Dangerous Woman
by Mad Kat
Summary: Totally AU, BuffyAngel fic, Buffy is engaged to one guy but loves another...
1. Plans

Disclaimer: Damn, but I wish that I'd had this fabulous idea before that Joss Whedon fellow, but as it happens I didn't so sadly I cannot claim ownership.  
  
Author's note 1: This is very much an AU fic - no vampires, no slayers. They're all just normal people. This is my first effort at total AU fic so if it's bad please don't flame it, I'd have to crawl into a corner and hide for at least a month. As always comments, compliments and criticism are welcomed.  
  
Author's note 2: Yeah, I know. I'm meant to be busy writing my other fic 'The slayer, the sleuths and the scoobies.' Well, I got distracted. This idea has been in my little head all week taking up valuable space and every time I tried to do a new chapter for my other story I kept coming back to this one, so I decided to just write it and hopefully get it out of my mind - I haven't abandoned my other fic I promise.  
  
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Buffy moaned and shoved her head under the pillow, hoping to shut out the ringing of her alarm clock, she stuck out an arm and thumped wildly in the right region but the annoying ringing didn't stop. Then she realized it was still a bit dark and the ringing was coming, not from her now much abused alarm clock but her doorbell.  
  
She shoved her mussed blonde hair out of her eyes and squinted at the digital display, it read 5:26am. She dragged herself across the bed and reached for her robe planning a slow and painful death for whoever had the nerve to ring her bell like this at such a disgusting hour. She rolled out of bed and shoved her feet into bunny slippers before stomping out of her bedroom into the hall, cursing as she tripped over the torturously high sandals she had kicked off there the night before after her date with Riley.  
  
She glued her eye to the peephole and then frowned as she saw Spike outside. She swung the door open, "Okay buster, you'd better have a damn good reason for. Spike?" She took in his pinkish eyes and slightly blotchy face, "Aw honey, are you okay?"  
  
Spike shuffled into the apartment looking very unlike his usual cocky swaggering self. "She's left me," he gulped out, "Left me for that bloody ponce Wesley, can you believe."  
  
Buffy took his hand, pulled him through to her lounge and installed him on the sofa. Leaving him there she bustled away without a word to the kitchen where she hastily hauled chocolate brownie ice cream from her freezer and peanut butter cup cakes from her refrigerator. She started coffee perking and rushed back to Spike; he hadn't moved. Next she rushed to her bedroom and grabbed the duvet she had until so recently been snoozing under, when she had them both tucked up on the sofa with armfuls of comforting junk food she broached the tricky subject.  
  
"So, why did Cordelia leave you for Wesley?"  
  
Spike just bawled round his fourth cupcake.  
  
Buffy sighed and dug deep into the ice cream; it was going to be a very long morning.  
  
*******************  
  
Spike had finally calmed down once he'd eaten every scrap of her junk food and had copiously dribbled the contents of his nose and tear ducts onto her neck and shoulder. Now he was actually starting to make sense.  
  
"So you had no clue?" Buffy questioned gently, "Just, poof! Bye Spike I'm running off with Wes, who incidentally has more money than you do."  
  
Spike smiled faintly, "Something like that."  
  
Buffy simmered, she'd mistakenly thought Cordelia genuinely cared for her friend, she had been wrong. Now Cordelia would feel her wrath!  
  
"What you plotting pet?" queried Spike with a hint of the old mischief beginning to gleam in his baby blues.  
  
"Well my initial plan was for Willow, Anya and myself to trail Cordelia whenever she goes shopping and deliberately buy the same outfits to wear at the same time as her, hell, I might even bring in a few extra buddies."  
  
"You'd still have your work cut out." Chuckled Spike amused by the notion of his fastidious, fashion conscious ex meeting other women wearing the same outfit wherever she went.  
  
"But you're right of course, far too much effort, far too expensive and far too obvious. We need something much subtler that will irritate her just as much, but we might still throw in a fashion clash for good measure."  
  
Spike smiled a little, "Do tell."  
  
"Well what drove Cordy nuts? Besides fashion clashes and Xander that is."  
  
Spike looked blank.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes, "Think about it Spike, what were almost all your arguments with Cordelia about? She plain hated you being anywhere near another attractive woman, she was so jealous she'd all but turn green."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, we make her jealous. If she sees you apparently blissfully happy with another woman so soon after her leaving you, when you should be busy nursing a broken heart, it'll really bug her. Nobody likes to think they're so forgettable that their former lover is already happy with someone else." Buffy cringed slightly but Spike didn't seem to have heard that last somewhat insensitive sentence.  
  
"It'd have to be you then," he said consideringly, "Cor always was worried that one day I'd turn round and tell her I was leaving her for you."  
  
Buffy's jaw dropped, "Whaa?"  
  
"Yeah I know, dumb huh? You and me like that, weird or what? I mean, I can see that you're pretty and I love you and all, but it's just not like that."  
  
Buffy nodded in agreement, "It is always a bit hard for people to understand that a guy and girl really can be just good friends, Riley has a problem with it too."  
  
"Oh God," Spike groaned, "he's not peacefully slumbering in your bed waiting for you to go back to him once your demented friend is done snivelling is he? Oh yeuch, he's not is he?!"  
  
"What, may I ask is wrong with Riley?" Buffy grinned.  
  
"It's not the fish boy I'm bothered by but the bodily fluids that might be on the duvet I currently have tucked up to my chin!"  
  
"Ewww, Spike!" scolded Buffy wrinkling her nose in mock-disgust, secretly glad he was back on his usual rude form again.  
  
"Still maidenly and modest eh?" he chuckled delightedly, "Dimpled knees still firmly gummed together?"  
  
"Spike!" Buffy snatched up a handy cushion and whumped him on the head with it.  
  
He let her batter him for a minute before capturing the cushion in a determined grip, "Will you do it Buffy?"  
  
"Pretend to be your new bit of stuff?"  
  
Spike wriggled his eyebrows and pouted his bottom lip, "Please."  
  
Buffy sighed dramatically without any real regret, "Oh dear, I guess that means I have to bid my love from Iowa a fond farewell."  
  
"You stuffed it up again didn't you?!" howled Spike gleefully.  
  
"I don't know what you mean." Retorted Buffy with dignity.  
  
"You were unsuccessful last night at dumping the greasy little fishy back into the scummy pond he flopped out of!"  
  
Buffy giggled, "Well Spikie baby," she purred mock seductively, "I guess being your latest lurrvve toy will just have to be my excuse for dumping poor boring Riley!"  
  
"I knew it!" crowed Spike triumphantly, "I so knew you were bored with the loser! All the rest of them were getting excited thinking maybe Buffy had finally met someone who wouldn't turn her off and bore her witless within three dates, but no. Another one bites the bloody dust." He paused, "Are you ever going to find a guy Buffy?"  
  
Buffy glared at her friend, "Hey, I'm about to do you a big favour so don't knock my extreme lack of love life when you don't have one of your own right now." Spike looked hurt and Buffy clapped a hand over her mouth, stricken by her unthinking bitchiness.  
  
"I'm sorry." They said together.  
  
Spike recovered quicker, "Now, to plans." 


	2. Prodigal

"I can't believe we've let it get this far." Grumbled Buffy to Spike who was currently patiently lacing her into the gorgeous rose-pink silk evening dress she was wearing for their engagement party.  
  
She fidgeted, re-arranged her limited amount of cosmetics in their little bag, plucked at the sweatpants she still wore beneath the dress, wriggled her toes encased in her very un-glamorous bunny slippers, fiddled with her earrings, added more powder to her nose and moodily poked curling tongs into her hair to tweak at her loosely waved, already perfect style, before Spike gently slapped her hand and forced her to sit still.  
  
"I feel sooo bad," she moaned, "Your parents are lovely and your mom is so excited by the fact her big son is getting married that I can't see how we're going to end this without everyone being miserable and hating us later."  
  
Spike grimaced, "I know pet, but we're here now and the show must go on. They'd be more upset if we called it off before the party even got started."  
  
"How are we going to end this?"  
  
"Suicide pact?" kidded Spike tastelessly, "Seriously love all we can do is pray something more exciting happens to take the heat off us, like say my brother getting engaged or Aliens taking over the White House."  
  
"Angel? From what little I've heard of him I don't think we can count on him to save our butts. Doesn't he hate women? Little green men it will have to be!"  
  
Spike grimaced, "He doesn't hate women exactly, he just doesn't seem to realise that they're on the planet too. He's so obsessed with being a multi- millionaire before he turns thirty that it probably doesn't actually occur to him to date. Actually, you and him would probably get along okay, both of you are driven and career focussed - I mean you've worked seriously long hard hours to build up your martial arts center and make it as successful as it is, he'd respect that."  
  
Buffy smiled with pleasure, the martial arts center she owned and ran was her pride and joy. Then she shook herself, "Off topic Spike! Skin saving remember?!"  
  
"Emigrate to Greece, work as humble olive pickers and live in a shack?"  
  
"Euureghh!"  
  
*******************  
  
Angel collected his last suitcase from the carousel and swung it effortlessly onto his baggage trolley. He moved forward at a leisurely pace towards the exit. So, his brother was getting married. Well it gave him a real excuse to come home for a while and catch up with the family. Although his brother was never girlfriendless his relationships rarely lasted beyond the first trip to bed, if they even got that far. He had been worried that the spoiled and overly vain sounding Cordelia he had heard about was going to be the one; but instead his mom was practically in ecstasies over someone called Buffy.  
  
He hoped his fickle brother was finally settling down. Maybe if he could find someone suitable he'd do the same, after all he did want children someday, preferably lots of them. He'd been realising lately just how lonely his life was. Sure he had a few friends he kept in touch with, meeting up sometimes for a drink or meal, but most were heavily involved with a woman and had little time to spare. He divided his time between the office and the gym; where he studied Tai Chi and kickboxing. His work, he admitted, no longer gave him the thrill and satisfaction it had once and he was already wondering what to do with the rest of his life - besides the hoped for marriage and kids.  
  
When he'd started his own company he'd been a shy, geeky, spotty beanpole of an eighteen-year-old with everything to prove - and holding absolutely no interest for women, then he'd gotten impressively rich very fast and suddenly they were all interested despite the fact his personality and looks had hardly changed at all. From then on he'd been deeply suspicious of women. Even now, as a reasonably self-assured man whose mirror told him women would be attracted to him for reasons besides his fortune he was still a hard-boiled cynic.  
  
Although he had been tempted on a few occasions to take what some girls offered in exchange for a few glittering jewels and nights in the best restaurants he had always restrained himself. His upbringing had firmly instilled the idea that sex without love or at least respect and commitment was on the empty side of things and was somehow wrong. Spike didn't seem to take much notice of that idea, but then he and his brother had never been much alike.  
  
*******************  
  
Buffy smiled sweetly at yet another aged relative and chatted to her politely for a while, then as the lady finally moved away she looked around frantically for Spike, where on earth had he disappeared to now?! "Where is he Will?" She muttered to her best friend who stood next to her looking very pretty in a silvery velvet gown.  
  
Willow shrugged helplessly and clutched Oz's hand more firmly as if he would disappear as Spike appeared to have done.  
  
Spike was in fact busy getting to know another of Buffy's friends, a friend he had somehow managed to not meet before. Faith, he decided, was absolute heaven on legs and Faith was thinking pretty much the same about him, until she caught sight of Buffy looking frantically about for her runaway fiancée.  
  
She chuckled, "Spike. I think B needs a bit of help over there."  
  
Together they wandered over to where Buffy stood.  
  
Then they all heard a faint commotion from inside the house, Spike's mom was practically squealing with joy.  
  
Spike cocked his head "Hello, that must be the return of the prodigal son."  
  
"Prodigal?" questioned Faith and Willow who didn't know the story.  
  
"Yeah, my brother Angel who charged off to the Big Apple almost seven years ago and has hardly ever been home since and not at all in the last three years, is finally home to see the folks." He grinned cheekily and leaned forward to whisper in Buffy's ear, "Hey the scam was worth it just for this, maybe we could say we're not engaged, we just wanted to dupe Angel into coming home."  
  
Buffy looked at him strangely.  
  
"Yeah, maybe not," he admitted, although his eyes lingered hungrily on Faith.  
  
*******************  
  
"Now you must come and see William and meet Buffy, such a dear sweet girl, really a steadying influence for Will." His mom chirped happily as she settled his baggage in his old bedroom, he looked at her closely. Surely the lines on her face were deeper than he remembered and was that a few new gray hairs at the temple? His stomach twisted, he'd been away longer than he'd realised.  
  
"Sure mom, I'm looking forward to meeting her and seeing Spike again."  
  
His mom beamed and stretched up a hopeful hand in an attempt to neaten his unruly hair that always stuck up in wild tufts no matter what he did to it. He smirked, "Give it up mom, my hair is never gonna behave, short of a thorough application of krazy glue that is and maybe not even then."  
  
She shook her head happily and took his arm so they could walk outside together. They wove their way through old friends and family members before finally arriving beside his brother at a makeshift bar where he was busily pouring drinks. The brothers slapped each other on the back and exchanged a few comments before Angel was dragged onwards again by their mom, to meet the wonderful Buffy.  
  
"Be with you in a few," Spike called as they moved away, he pointed helpfully, "The ladies are that-a-way."  
  
Then his mom ground to a sudden halt beside three girls tucked away under a low parasol giggling together. A sweet redhead in modestly draped silver velvet was closest, clutching a man by the hand - not her then.  
  
Then a bold, exotic brunette in a tight, red lace dress swayed to her feet and hugged his mom affectionately. Angel resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. His little bro was so predictable; he went for the admittedly pretty but in-your-face brunette every single time.  
  
His mom smiled fondly and hugged the girl in return, "My, looking at you in that dress makes me wish I was twenty years younger and could still get away with it!"  
  
The girl turned her gaze on him and her eyes glowed with unmistakeable lust for a brief instant, "Who might this be?" she cooed, batting her eyelashes.  
  
Angel smothered his dislike that she could be engaged to his brother and flirt so prettily with him but managed to smile charmingly as he extended his hand "I'm Angel. Pleased to meet you."  
  
The girl grinned at him and turned to the third girl he had ignored until then and said cheekily "Buffy? Are you sure you're marrying the right brother?!"  
  
He worked hard not to let his mouth drop open in sheer surprise as a beautiful, dainty woman dressed in exquisite pink silk stepped forwards and gave him the sweetest, most innocent smile he had ever seen. In that moment Angel became horribly aware that he envied his brother, and more than anything in the world he wanted to snatch up the tiny blonde and keep her all for himself.  
  
Buffy's heart was pounding hard enough that she was surprised it didn't just leap clean out of her chest and boing off somewhere as she extended her hand to take Angel's, electricity shocked her hand as they made contact and from the startled look in the chocolatey depths of his eyes she wondered if he felt it too, though no-one else seemed to find anything amiss. She brushed a gentle kiss of greeting to his warm cheek and felt the faintest rasp of his stubble on her lips and shivered at the delicious tingle it gave her. Her hand trembled in his and when they released each other both were shaking inwardly.  
  
So that was Buffy! His brother's taste had improved tenfold Angel observed, hell, thousandfold! He cringed; he was in a bad way, struck dumb by his own brother's bride to be!  
  
So that was Angel! Jeeze Spike! Buffy thought, don't warn me that your brother belongs on a magazine centrefold! Just leave me unprepared so I let my tongue flop out and end up drowned in my own drool!  
  
"Alright Sweetheart? Have a glass of punch."  
  
Spike was back. Buffy accepted the glass and tried to shoot him a meaningful look but Spike had clearly had a little too much to drink and missed the subtle glare as he planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Gritting her teeth and resisting the impulse to wipe her face Buffy produced a brittle smile and looped her arms around him. It meant she could look away from the brain-frying, knee-jellifying goodness that was his brother and maybe get a reality check on her galloping hormones. Yeah, right.  
  
Angel's mouth dried as Buffy turned away to embrace Spike, partly from pure envy because he wanted to be the one she held like that and partly because her initially simple and modest looking dress turned out to have virtually no back, instead there was a mass of thin silky ribbons woven back and forth on a crisscross pattern right down so far he swore he could almost see she wasn't wearing panties. He zoned out slightly as he imagined himself standing behind her in the shadowy privacy of her bedroom, slowly, teasingly unlacing those ribbons, one loop at a time, before gently sliding the silk of her dress down her slender curves and. He determinedly brought himself up short; it would be Spike who had that privilege, and what was wrong with him to be imagining his future sister-in-law like that? Deciding to at least attempt to ignore the effect she was having on him he dedicated himself to simply being pleasant and entertaining for the rest of the evening. 


	3. Problems

"Well that went well!" moaned Spike as the party finally wound down and they managed to escape. "Only about ninety-six percent of the guests totally adored you and asked us excitedly when we were getting hitched, Oh bloody hell!"  
  
"Spike, I hate to say I told you so, but."  
  
"You told me so, yeah I know. You woman, me man. You right, me wrong."  
  
"At least you admit it. Actually that may be the least of your problems right now."  
  
"It is?"  
  
"Yeah, a little warning that your supposedly peculiar, woman-hating brother is actually really nice, funny and charming would have been appreciated, to say nothing of the fact that the man is a menace!"  
  
"Huh? How can he be a nice menace? That's a parawotsit. What did he do? Goose you and look down your dress as he kissed babies and told jokes?!  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at his silliness, "Paradox Spike."  
  
"Oh yeah. What then?"  
  
"Hello? Were we looking at the same guy, y' know tall, dark and indecently gorgeous? A menace to girlie hormones?"  
  
Spike sat down on her bed and started howling with laughter, he laughed so hard he was almost sick.  
  
Buffy just glared until the choking and squawking had eased, then she demanded "What's so funny?!"  
  
"You, Buffy Summers, confirmed bachelorette, fussiest woman on earth, has finally fallen for none other than her fiancées brother - and as if that wasn't enough of a problem, the man doesn't seem to realise that women exist! Oh God, the irony!" He relapsed into hysteria again.  
  
For sheer insensitivity the guy was right up there in the top ten all time greats Buffy decided. "Ugh! Go away, you're not helping."  
  
"Sorry love, when this whole charade is over maybe we'll be able to sort something out for you both!" Spike staggered to his feet and headed for the door still sniggering. Buffy opened it and gladly shooed him through. She loved Spike but sometimes he sorely tried her patience; particularly when he was right.  
  
She scooped her nightie from under the pillow and took a few steps towards the en-suite bathroom before she recalled that her dress was practically un- removable without help, she hurried across the room intending to grab Spike before he got too far away but cannoned out of her doorway to collide with a vast expanse of hard masculine muscle.  
  
She raised her head to look at whomever she had just tried to trample and cringed, of course it had to be Angel. He smiled down at her pleasantly and peeled her off his broad chest before propping her upright again.  
  
Buffy managed to urge her mouth into forming some words, "Damn shoes," she said by way of explanation, raising a dainty foot with wickedly high-heeled shoes attached. "Sorry to collide with you like that but these shoes kinda have a mind of their own."  
  
Angel chuckled as he took in the ridiculous little shoe and Buffy's stomach went squishy at the sound, oh God, he was temptation itself. "No harm done, where were you off to in such a rush? Anything I can help you with?" He asked mildly before mentally kicking himself for the stupidity of the question- she's probably racing for her lover's bed dumbass!  
  
The smarter part of Buffy's brain said 'absolutely not' but a much bigger part simply wasn't tuned in. "Well I meant to ask Spike to help undo my dress but I forgot so I was just going after him to ask him to unpick the knots because I'm stuck in it without help, but if you could just undo the first few rows I can manage the rest."  
  
Angel glanced about him as if Spike were hiding nearby to see what he'd do, "Uh sure," he mumbled as she turned her back on him. He stared dazedly at the mass of pink ribbons with enticing bits of bare golden flesh peeking through, "Uh, and the knots are where exactly?"  
  
Buffy teetered on her high heels as she squirmed her body trying to dig the ends of the ribbons from down the bottom end of the fastenings, just above her pert little bottom. Then she nearly pitched over again. Angel's hands shot out and wrapped around her slender waist, his warm fingers splayed out over her ribcage. Buffy laughed shakily, "I think you'd better just try to manage please?"  
  
"Okay." Angel's hands were shaking as he fished down the back of her dress seeking the ends of the ribbons, his suspicions about her not wearing panties were quickly confirmed and he struggled painfully to control his lust for her, eventually he managed to unpick a few rows of lacing and the rest began to sag apart. He nobly resisted the temptation to just let go of the ends to see what would happen and instead ushered her into her bedroom again, "If I let go I think you're gonna loose the lot, so if you hold onto the front then I'll let go and run away!"  
  
Buffy laughed as she got a secure grasp on the bodice, "I might at that," not that I'd really mind came the thought. Bad Buffy she added mentally, you don't even know this guy; after all he could kick puppies in his spare time for all you know! Instead she spoke up, "Thanks for that Angel, I got it now."  
  
"No problem, anytime you need a ladies maid just holler, I'm right next door. I'm letting go now, so, Goodnight."  
  
"Goodnight," Buffy echoed just before he closed the door. Her dress slithered unnoticed to the floor and pooled around her feet. Next door? Oh Help, she wasn't going to sleep a wink knowing her was just the other side of that wall.  
  
"Next door!" muttered Angel as he reached his bedroom and began to unbutton his shirt with still trembling fingers, "why does she have to be next door! Anywhere but there!" 


	4. Plot

"Good morning sleepyhead!" his mom chorused happily from her seat at the large round garden table just outside the kitchen door. Blinking dubiously in the sunshine Angel strolled out; pressed a kiss to the cheek of the only woman who could get away with calling him sleepyhead and took the seat she indicated between herself and Buffy.  
  
He gave Buffy a friendly smile and poured himself some juice, part grapefruit and part orange before helping himself to toast. Buffy smiled sweetly back as she toyed with a mug of coffee, the crumbs on her plate showing that she had already eaten her own breakfast.  
  
Angel hastily looked away; gulping juice so fast he nearly choked. "Where's Spike?" he asked loudly, more to remind himself that Buffy was Spike's girl than out of any sincere interest in his brother.  
  
"Dying." Buffy murmured as a small sly smile tugged at her full pink lips. "A few too many beverages last night left him whimpering and whining like a kicked puppy this morning. I offered him some breakfast but he just mumbled something about worshiping the porcelain goddess and hid under his pillow. I was hungry though, so here I am."  
  
"Oh, my poor Will, perhaps I should go and check on him again."  
  
Angel rolled his eyes, "I don't imagine Spike will die of a hangover Mom. It's probably better to let him surface by himself when he feels human again. I'm sure we can keep Buffy entertained between us."  
  
Buffy stared discreetly at Angel from under her eyelashes as she sipped her coffee, boy could she ever think of a few ways he could entertain her! So it was probably a good thing that Spike's adorable Mom would be around to keep her from acting like a lovesick lusty fool. Buffy frowned, she hated to deceive this sweet woman but it had been Spike's crazy plan to make pretend dating a pretend engagement. She was just his witless foil!  
  
"That's a wonderful idea Angel," approved his Mom.  
  
Angel blinked in puzzlement, what was? "Huh?"  
  
"I'll stay here and keep an eye on Will and check arrangements for the Halloween ball tonight while you take Buffy and show her around the town, maybe take her shopping, you always used to love shopping and I know Buffy does." She smiled happily and finished her own glass of juice. "So that's settled." She bounced happily to her feet and pressed a kiss to the cheek of her startled daughter-in-law to be and to the forehead of her equally startled son before practically skipping inside.  
  
Buffy smiled nervously at Angel, hopefully he couldn't hear her heart doing somersaults and other complex activities every time he smiled or quirked an eyebrow or just sat there eating peanut butter smothered toast!  
  
She needed to be cool about this, as far as Angel was concerned she was marrying Spike so she just needed to be cool and he'd never know she was practically salivating over him and hadn't slept much the night before, as she had been too busy thinking about him.  
  
Giving herself a mental slap she forced her mouth to form words.  
  
"So uh, did I take a nap or get abducted by aliens when you suggested that we go into town sightseeing and shopping?"  
  
Angel threw her one of his trademark half smiles she was fast coming to recognise, shrugged and reached for more toast, "I think Mom is so worked up about this ball that she's finishing conversations for people in her head so she can get on with the next thing more quickly. Actually it wasn't a bad idea, if you want to go into town I'd gladly take you because I don't have a costume for the ball yet."  
  
Buffy gazed open-mouthed, "You live in New York so close to lots of yummy shops and you have no costume for a party you are attending tonight?"  
  
Angel smiled his cutest little boy smile, "Pretty much sums it up, I've been busy though and there is a great store in town that stocks some pretty cool stuff, I checked last week with Mom to make sure it was still there."  
  
"Okay, let me just grab my bag and make sure Spike isn't actually dead before we hit the town."  
  
Angel nodded and held up his last slice of toast, "I'm ready to go once I've finished here."  
  
*******************  
  
"Wow!"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Now I understand why you didn't get your outfit in New York. This place is incredible. Now I'm miserable that I already have an outfit. My flapper dress is pretty nice but my mask looks so frumpy and boring compared to these."  
  
"The prices are pretty reasonable, you might find something else here that you could get."  
  
Buffy stretched out tentative fingers to stroke the black plumes rising from a silver tiara attached to one very glamorous mask. It was perched on a mannequin and the mannequin head itself had a wig with crisp dark curls spiralling downward to breast length where a particularly elaborate heart shaped pendant sparkled. Buffy wanted it all. "You really think so?"  
  
"If not I'm sure Spike would lend you the money."  
  
"Who? This is Spike right? The guy currently dying of beer who insisted that teaming ragged shorts and a stripy t-shirt with an eye patch for a mask was an okay costume? The guy who is not here so therefore his wallet is not here either?"  
  
Angel grinned as he scanned the walls and mannequins for a mask that would suit him, "I can pay, he can pay me back."  
  
"Are you sure?" Buffy asked as she drifted towards an exquisitely embroidered, full skirted shimmering silk dress.  
  
"Absolutely. That would suit you by the way, very bridal but very pretty."  
  
Buffy stopped fingering the white gown and hastily changed direction. Bridal was not a good thing. It would make guests think more about her and Spike and it would make her think more about her and Angel. Which was definitely not good in either scenario.  
  
She blundered between lines of stunning costumes barely seeing them, but as she calmed again a few moments later she spotted another dress. Not as delicately lovely as the first but still gorgeous in a very different, much bolder way, she tilted her head; red wasn't strictly speaking her colour but it would look amazing with the plumed mask and wig she had seen as she entered the shop. She had barely glanced at any of the other masks, but that one had immediately called her name.  
  
Screwing up her courage she took a peek at the price tag dangling from a silken sleeve and was pleasantly surprised, she could actually afford it and still have quite a bit of money left over. Maybe even enough for the mask if she was really lucky.  
  
She stepped back between the racks of dresses to see Angel chatting easily to the shopkeeper over a bundle of black material. She spotted a few red glints in the material but largely it seemed his costume was to be black. What a surprise. She swept her gaze over him, although she'd only seen him in two outfits both had been completely black - she was beginning to suspect that black was all he wore.  
  
Then Angel spotted her, "Hey Buffy, I got a highwayman costume and tricorn hat. There's even a traditional Italian carnival mask that really suits a highwayman, I just can't decide whether to get it in black or white. How about you? Are you sticking with what you have or are you getting the white dress?"  
  
"Actually, I've seen something else. I really love that white dress but Halloween is supposed to be come as you aren't night so instead of going for that which is something that anyone who knows me would pick out for me I'm getting something very different and very daring."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah." Buffy directed her gaze to the plump Latino shop assistant and lowered her voice, "there's this kind of gypsyish dress in bright red with a little bit of black detail that I would love to try."  
  
The woman smiled and replied quietly, "I know the very one, it will look very well with his costume too. The highwayman's lady would have worn such a dress." Then as she marched away to fetch the dress she announced much louder, "You are a very lucky gentleman, your sweetheart will be stunning tonight!"  
  
Buffy opened her mouth to protest but caught a glimpse of Angel impersonating a bug-eyed goldfish in shock. Somehow he managed to look cute even doing that, and by the time she had enough control of herself to correct the shocking assumption about their relationship she was being hustled into a changing cubicle to try on the dress.  
  
It was a perfect fit, and if she was honest she kind of liked the idea of matching Angel. For a moment she considered modelling the dress for him but the fact that the ball was supposed to be a masked affair with nobody knowing anybody else she supposed she shouldn't.  
  
She scrambled hastily back into her pants and sweater and poked her head through the curtains, "I'll take it."  
  
While Angel lolled against the counter still glaring indecisively at two masks and Gina carefully wrapped the dress Buffy prowled through the other masks. Now she was actually looking she was seeing dozens more that she would love to wear. Some could be eliminated on the grounds of colour scheme but there were still lots more.  
  
There were also a few strange looking ones with horns and teeth or big beaky noses, though they weren't the commonplace plastic or rubber masks bought by kids everywhere. These were incredibly well made, probably by hand. She briefly noted one completely plain and simple mask with a very chiselled squared set to it and wished she'd been able to persuade Spike to wear something like that. He wasn't her boyfriend but she had a certain duty as a friend to prevent him from looking idiotic. But he'd been un- budge-able from the eye patch and to Buffy's chagrin Xander had followed suit insisting on a cowboy hat and bandanna for his costume. At that point she had given up on both of them, particularly when Spike had announced his intention of hiding behind a fake beard, false teeth and a large stuffed parrot!  
  
"This is so incredible," she said at last, "How did you come to have so many different ones?"  
  
"Many of these are reproductions of originals made for the Venetian carnival held every year in February, some are actually from Venice itself." As she spoke Gina scooped up one very simple black mask painted with hundreds of tiny silver stars. "This one is actually from St Marks Square, the very heart of the city. Many of the costumes and masks that I sell are traditional carnival wear."  
  
"That must be an amazing time, with so many gorgeous costumes." Buffy said fervently wishing she could see the spectacle.  
  
"It is, very well worth a visit. A nice honeymoon trip perhaps."  
  
Buffy watched out of the corner of her eye as Angel twitched, almost dropped the masks and did a little juggling before settling back to staring at them with now slightly pinkened ears.  
  
"But I think perhaps that you chose the right mask as you entered, it would match your costume very well."  
  
"But it's so gorgeous, it must cost a fortune."  
  
"Well, it is a reproduction mask, not one from Italy and despite the big plumes and dazzling tiara the paintwork is quite simple. It is easy enough to attach fine feathers or a tiara but to paint hundreds of tiny perfect stars by hand is the job of an artist, and much more time consuming."  
  
Buffy smiled with excitement as Gina lifted the mask down, wig and all, "Really?"  
  
Gina displayed the price tag and Buffy heaved a sigh of relief, "I thought it would probably be twice that."  
  
She quickly held the mask up to her face without actually tying it on, "I love it!"  
  
"And the wig will help ensure that no-one knows you except maybe your Angel." Gina added enthusiastically, "I believe it is a surprise unmasking?"  
  
Buffy nodded in agreement, trying to tamp down on the warm squishy feeling she got at the words 'Your Angel'  
  
"I'll have it all then." She said, delightedly bouncing over to where Angel stood. Feeling brave she slipped her hand through his arm and squeezed it gently. "Thank you so much for bringing me here Angel. I feel like I can't fail to be the belle of the ball now."  
  
He gave her his adorable sexy little half smile and said "You would have been the most beautiful woman there no matter what you wore, but it was my pleasure."  
  
Buffy practically swooned as she managed to throw him a dazed smile before a beaming Gina passed them both their bagfuls of goodies and waved them cheerfully out of her shop.  
  
She was in big trouble here.  
  
Really big.  
  
*******************  
  
"Morning Spikie," purred Faith over her mug of coffee as he staggered into the surprisingly hot fall sunshine dressed in boxer shorts and mirrored sunglasses.  
  
Spike slowly made his way to the table and crashed into the seat not long vacated by his brother, "Mornin love," he responded. Faith just smiled at him before taking another bite of her cereal; he eyed her long tanned legs with appreciation. He felt a bit better already; a beautiful woman really was the perfect hangover cure.  
  
"Have you seen Buffy this morning?" he addressed his mom as she bustled out with a mug of tea for him along with a crispy bacon sandwich.  
  
"Yes, we had breakfast together along with Angel. They've popped into town to Masquerade, Angel needed a costume and I thought Buffy would enjoy it."  
  
Spike took a swig of tea and grinned, "Wow, fast moves Buffster!"  
  
His mom looked totally puzzled, Faith merely raised an amused eyebrow.  
  
"Because Faith really likes him, she's probably trying to feel him out!" he quickly covered himself and Buffy.  
  
His mom smiled happily at Faith and poured her more coffee as Faith busily glared at Spike.  
  
"Feel him up is more like it!" She grumbled at Spike in a whisper.  
  
As his mom rushed back indoors to attend to a decorating crisis Spike blinked dopily at Faith who reached over to tug down his sunglasses so she could look him square in his beautiful baby blues. "Buffy is my friend Spike, I know when she likes a guy or not. Those two strike sparks off each other and you're too busy checking out my legs to want to marry Buffy and yeah, I think your brother is pretty hot-"  
  
Spike's face fell and he reached for his shades.  
  
"But you're definitely hotter!" Faith finished teasingly.  
  
Spike grinned, "Oh, yeah?"  
  
"Definitely. Now explain the whole crazy plot you and B seem to have worked up." 


	5. Pirate!

Thanks for all the reviews guys.  
  
I'm writing this as fast as I can, so it shouldn't be too long before I get back to 'The Slayer, the sleuths and the scoobies.' And yeah, I know I'm naughty for starting a new story but it was practically fully formed in my head and just begging to be written!  
  
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"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" bellowed Spike as he bounded into the room and leapt onto her bed bouncing enthusiastically. "Hey Buffy! Aren't you nearly ready yet?"  
  
"Not unless you think I'm going downstairs in my robe and bunny slippers."  
  
"Ahh! Bunnies!" screamed Anya from the doorway.  
  
Buffy hastily kicked them off, grabbed them and hid them behind her back. "No bunnies now." She said smiling widely at Anya, praying she wouldn't get hysterical.  
  
Luckily Xander appeared behind her, arms wide for a big consoling hug. At which Buffy breathed again.  
  
"Is everything okay?" Willow asked as she and Oz poked their heads around the doorframe.  
  
"Everything is fine," Buffy told them firmly but kindly. She now had less than an hour and a half to get ready for the ball and even though she didn't have to do her hair properly thanks to the wig she still wanted to look her best for Angel and that would take time.  
  
"I heard screaming and wondered if everything was okay." Angel murmured from his position just behind Oz.  
  
Buffy moaned, great, now he'd seen her in her ratty old robe clutching bunny slippers behind her back with her hair in a towel as she grinned maniacally at an assorted group of semi-clothed people as Spike the pirate bounced on her bed.  
  
She hadn't pulled the plug on her bath yet; maybe she should just go drown herself.  
  
"Hey, why is nobody else ready!" Spike asked as he bounced even higher sending Buffy's fresh underwear flying from the bed.  
  
Buffy cringed.  
  
Angel winced, he knew Buffy and Spike were probably lovers - he just didn't need the proof literally flung about in front of him!  
  
Buffy gathered her dignity and quickly kicked her underwear under the bed; glad she hadn't laid out her dress too.  
  
Then she grabbed Spike by the ear and pinned him to the bed. "We are not ready because A. The party doesn't begin for at least another hour and B. because there is this crazy pirate on the loose distracting us all!"  
  
Spike grinned up at her mischievously, "Would that be me?"  
  
Buffy let go and grinned, Spike was hard to stay mad at for long. "It would, so why don't you scram and help your mom who has probably panicked herself into a blur of activity by now and try not to show any more people that it's you who is a pirate. It was all supposed to be a surprise hence the last minute getting dressed thing."  
  
Spike shuffled off the bed with a mock downcast look on his face. "Okay, I'll go help mom but if she gets overexcited and puts me in a pumpkin pie I'm blaming you!"  
  
Buffy chuckled as the crowd dispersed and Spike careered out of the room singing again. Only she and Angel were left as everyone else hurried off, realising how the time was ticking away.  
  
Buffy stood nervously wondering whether the peach towelling turban she was currently sporting looked any stupider than the wet rats tails it was undoubtedly covering. It was probably better not to find out she decided flinging the bunnies to one side with a sudden flip of her wrist. Angel's eyes followed the plunge of the bunnies and he grinned.  
  
"Cute slippers."  
  
Buffy flushed, "Anya didn't think so."  
  
"Was that what she was screaming about?" Angel asked interestedly, "I was next door and thought I heard someone screaming about Bunnies."  
  
"Yup, she has some sort of irrational fear of them even when they're stuffed and on my feet apparently." Buffy confirmed.  
  
Angel chuckled, "well, I'd better let you get on or we'll both be going down in towels."  
  
Buffy didn't want him to take those towel wrapped hips and that gorgeous smooth chest out of the room; she took a step nearer forgetting her old towelling robe and untidy peach turban. "We could go as Romans, with towel togas," she offered jokingly, stopping a few feet away from him.  
  
Angel almost forgot to breathe, he only had to take one largish step forward and she'd be pressed against him. He needed to stop, distance himself and keep it light and friendly, "Mmm, but I don't think Romans wore navy blue togas or peachy turbans."  
  
Buffy pouted, "Why not? I know history books show them as white but what do they know? If I was Roman I'd get bored of plain white."  
  
Angel grinned, "Okay, I'll let you have the blue toga but the turban has to go!" He playfully tugged the edge of the towel even though he knew he was in deep trouble and needed to get gone very quickly indeed.  
  
But then Buffy shook her long damp locks free of the towel and smiled up at him and all his good intentions began to dissipate.  
  
"I should let you get ready." He murmured as he backed away a few inches. "We've only got fifty minutes now."  
  
Buffy nodded and closed the gap between them, tilting her head back even further so she could look up at him, "Yeah, I really should get dressed."  
  
Angel lowered his head slightly and tried not to stare at her mouth. He was not going to kiss her he told himself firmly. He would not do that to his own brother no matter what he was feeling for Buffy. He would absolutely not make a move on her. Hastily he took another two steps backwards and bumped against the wall beside the door, Buffy followed.  
  
"I really should-"  
  
"- Let me get ready."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Mmm." Buffy responded as she stopped a few inches from where Angel leaned casually against the wall. Oh damn, she was going to kiss him.  
  
He tried to persuade himself that only the worst kind of man would kiss his brother's fiancée but it wasn't like he'd done it deliberately, he hadn't set out to kiss her. Feeling absolved of responsibility he gathered her into his arms and returned the gentle kiss she'd pressed on him.  
  
Gentle as that kiss had been it wasn't just a friendly kiss and the way Buffy responded to his embrace made him certain that she knew what she was doing. But what was he doing? Ignoring the guilt that had begun to creep in Angel kept kissing Buffy, almost unable to take in how perfect it felt. There was no hesitation; they were kissing like lovers of old their mouths clinging together, a perfect fit. When he felt her tongue scrape against his he had to resist the urge to send her crashing down onto the bed a few metres behind her. He couldn't think of a time when he had enjoyed a kiss so much - and with Buffy of all people!  
  
He froze and slowly, reluctantly disengaged himself.  
  
She looked up at him with wide eyes, her cheeks rosily flushed with excitement, "Why'd you stop?" she questioned dizzily.  
  
"We need to get ready." He choked out.  
  
"Oh!" she suddenly looked panicked. "Angel, there's something I need to explain-"  
  
He cut her off quickly; he didn't want to hear any excuses until he'd had a chance to straighten out his own head. "Lets just not okay?" he said gently "I'm sorry Buffy."  
  
Buffy opened her mouth to set him straight, but she was arguing with empty space. Angel was already gone.  
  
"Way to go Summers." She mumbled stomping to slam the door after him. "What a brilliant plan, just jump on him and smooch his lips off BEFORE you tell him your engagement to his brother is all a big fake. What a surprise he ran away, any decent guy who has just been mauled by his future sister-in- law would sprint away at speed!"  
  
In a furious temper she began grovelling under the bed for the underwear she had kicked there earlier. She had her own hair swept back out of the way, the wig safely on and had just wriggled into the strapless corset like bustier and matching panties and suspender belt when there was a loud hammering at the door. Abandoning the stockings and her boots she made a grab for her robe again and was just tying it in place when someone cracked open the door.  
  
"Hey, you decent in there B?"  
  
"I am now."  
  
Faith took that as an invitation to enter and shuffled into the room.  
  
Buffy stared.  
  
Faith wore two large shells over her breasts, a long blonde wig, a sparkly fishtail skirt and a black velvet mask studded with miniature shells and pearls.  
  
"Wow!"  
  
"Yeah, cool huh. Only at the moment it's a little more wow that I'd like it to be if you know what I mean!"  
  
"How can I help?" Buffy asked immediately.  
  
"Just tie my straps up good and tight, I got Spike to tie them up originally but I think he was feeling naughty and wanted me to fall out!"  
  
"Do you want me to kill him for you?" Buffy offered with a chuckle as she tightened the ribbons on Faith's unconventional bikini.  
  
"Nah, I like him too much to have you kung-foo him." Faith raised her mask and looked squarely at Buffy, "Probably more than you do, if you get my drift."  
  
Buffy flushed, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean I guessed that you and Spike weren't really involved and asked him about it. He admitted that it was just a scam so-"  
  
"You like Spike?!" Buffy squeaked happily, "That is so great!"  
  
"And you like Spike's brother!" Faith bounced back with a grin.  
  
Buffy grimaced, "Yeah but I blew that just now."  
  
Faith reached for Buffy's make up bag and pointed to the dressing table stool, "Sit." She commanded, Buffy sat. "Now tell me how you think you blew it and I'll see what we can do to fix it."  
  
"Well, I kissed him."  
  
"How is that bad?" Faith demanded as she expertly swept eyeliner along Buffy's lids in one practised motion.  
  
Buffy opened her eyes and stared into the mirror, "Hey, how do you do that?! I always poke myself in the eye."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes and reached for a pot of smoky silver eye shadow, "Why was the kiss bad? Was your breath gross, did you bite him, What?"  
  
"Didn't you hear me? I kissed him."  
  
When Faith still looked blank Buffy took pity on her. "You may know that I'm not engaged to Spike but Angel still doesn't."  
  
Faith grimaced, "Oops."  
  
"Yeah, Oops is about right." Buffy glumly agreed.  
  
Faith carefully applied the rest of her friend's make up in thoughtful silence. Eventually she spoke, "Get dressed up B, I got a plan." 


	6. Pairs

Was Buffy trying to give him a heart attack? Angel wondered ruefully as he watched the two girls descend the staircase together. He had seen everyone else come down except her and Faith. Although some of their costumes had been pretty good he had been able to discern who was who without too much difficulty.  
  
He had got dressed in record time and run down to help his mom with last minute organisation, to help take his mind off the difficult decision he had to make. Option number one was to pretend nothing had ever happened and hope Buffy took the hint, option number two was to tell Spike what a faithless woman he was marrying - though that would make him look bad too and option number three was to assume that Buffy wasn't really faithless just that she'd fallen out of love with Spike and in love with him. There would be a lot of explaining to do if that was the case but it was much better than the other two scenarios. Telling Spike would be bad, but not telling him would be far worse really.  
  
Angel shut his eyes. Why did life have to be so complicated? And why oh why did Buffy have to come down to the ball in a skin-tight skirt and her bra?! Personally he preferred the stunning red dress Faith was wearing that showed off an immaculate hourglass figure but all Buffy's skin on display in that stupid shell bra was going to cause a riot!  
  
"Ladies!" he heard Spike shout triumphantly and saw him wrap an arm around each girl just as the guests began to arrive.  
  
Angel turned away and strode out of the main doors. He couldn't watch Buffy cozy up to Spike when less than an hour ago she'd been lost in his arms, kissing him like she'd never be able to stop.  
  
He paused beside the small box of masks designated for guests that had forgotten or not bothered to hide their faces. He could stay outside handing the damned things out for at least an hour whilst everybody arrived. It would be one less thing for his mom to worry about and it gave him a good excuse for keeping out of the way.  
  
*******************  
  
"Spike." Faith said, "If you knew we were Buffy and Faith but didn't know which of us was which who would you think was who?"  
  
Spike digested this confusing statement and looked thoughtful, "Is this something about Angel?"  
  
Buffy's mouth fell open, "Does everyone know about me and Angel except Angel?" she squeaked.  
  
"Just answer the damn question blondie." Grumbled Faith.  
  
Spike took a step back and eyed them both. "Well, you've actually got very similar figures and Faith, you aren't a lot taller than Buffy which could be put down to high heels so now you've hidden your faces I probably would have thought Buffy was you and vice versa judging solely on hair colour if I hadn't already known what Faith was wearing."  
  
Faith grinned at Buffy, "Told you so, we can have fun with this."  
  
"Does this involve my brother in some way Buff?" Spike demanded excitedly.  
  
"I suppose." Mumbled Buffy unconvincingly.  
  
"They shared a full on, body-grinding, lip-locking experience about three quarters of an hour ago." Faith put in helpfully.  
  
Spike stared, "What? Even though he thinks I'm engaged to you Buff? That's a bit out of order if you don't mind me taking a minute to be bloody well pissed off."  
  
"It wasn't his fault," Buffy hastened to add, "I pretty much grabbed him in a state of undress and backed him against a wall. He did kiss me back but he didn't start it and he did back off long before I would have done."  
  
"Hmmff, I guess that's not so terrible," Spike admitted, "The poor sod did look pretty guilty when I saw him a little while ago. I'm still going to make him feel bad before I let him have you though."  
  
"Spike!" Buffy ground out in exasperation.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's not nice!"  
  
"Neither is stealing my girl!"  
  
"I'm not your girl!"  
  
"He thought you were!"  
  
"I didn't exactly act like your girl when I was all over him!"  
  
"Shut it! Both of you!" Faith finally put in. "I don't think Angel was too out of line and planning to make him feel bad when he probably already does isn't funny. If I could see you and Buffy weren't for real maybe he's picked up on it too."  
  
"Well he wouldn't have backed off if he thought that would he?" Spike demanded.  
  
"No, but he might have unconsciously noticed the lack of chemistry between you two and felt the sparkage between him and Buffy."  
  
Spike scowled.  
  
"Now, Spike you and I are going to dance and then we are going to go out onto the balcony to," she paused meaningfully, "talk."  
  
Spike immediately looked happier, "Yeah?"  
  
Faith gave the sexiest look she could muster through the inconvenience of the mask and purred, "Damn right."  
  
Buffy shook her head as the two of them moved away onto the dance floor that was already filling up fast, they really did make the perfect pair. Hopefully they had both realised that and wouldn't mess things up but it did mean she was dateless and friendless now.  
  
Buffy sighed and scanned the room for her other friends, Anya and Xander were dancing like fools, swinging each other round and round and Willow and Oz were looking deep and meaningful over the punchbowl in the corner. Neither pair looked as if they'd be interested in acquiring a gooseberry.  
  
Buffy sighed and plodded towards the side door, so much for being the belle of the ball in her fabulous scarlet gown. 


	7. Pain

Thanks for all the reviews guys, very much appreciated! Just a short chapter for now, but there should be something bigger and better up tomorrow.  
  
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Angel was nearly out of decent masks to distribute, it seemed like about one out of every ten of the guests hadn't even tried to hide their faces. Honestly, why come to a 'Masked ball' if you didn't want to be masked? If the flow of guests didn't stop soon he would have to go and get the other box of masks his mom had stashed away.  
  
The next four guests did finish the collection of decent masks, now there were just a few really boring ones left and if his mom discovered he'd deliberately been handing those out when there were some decent ones to be had she'd probably explode. With a heavy sigh Angel turned the near empty box over to his cousin who was checking invitations and stomped off to fetch the other box.  
  
He strode through the ballroom ignoring the masses of laughing dancing guests and grabbed the other box from his dad's study. As he made his way back through the crowd he saw something that made his stomach nearly re- arrange itself on the floor. Spike was clearly recognizable as he dipped his mermaid back over his arm and loomed over her to affectionately rub noses before he pulled her upright again, if they could possibly get closer together they would probably need surgical removal from each other. Angel watched them with the pained realization that the Pirate and the Mermaid were 100% right for each other, something he'd never quite believed until a few seconds ago. So he really had meant nothing to Buffy. What for him had been an incredible and meaningful experience had been just a game or final fling for her.  
  
Pushing down his sickened misery and disappointment Angel tore his eyes away from the happy pair and stormed out of the ballroom.  
  
He would try to be happy for them in the future but he couldn't face it just yet.  
  
*******************  
  
Buffy mooched up the garden path that only twenty-four hours ago had been the scene of her first meeting with Angel. It was crazy how much the world could change in such a small amount of time.  
  
Only yesterday life had been so simple, with the exception of being involved in a massive fake engagement scam that was. But now she was really falling for Angel in a way she'd never fallen for any guy before and already she had massively screwed things up. How did she manage it?  
  
She plonked herself down on the grass under a willow tree and pulled off her beautiful mask. She didn't really fancy the ball now, though she wished she'd got a good look at Angel in his highwayman get-up; that must've been a seriously sexy sight!  
  
Buffy flopped onto her back feeling thoroughly miserable and unwanted, wishing she'd thought to bring a platter of food out with her because all that Halloween buffet had smelled incredible.  
  
Maybe later she'd go in and steal a plateful.  
  
Though really ice cream was called for.  
  
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Angel frowned over the bottle of champagne he had been swigging from, guests had finally stopped arriving and he had slipped away to the balcony to get a bit of peace and quiet within calling distance if he was needed. Now all he really didn't need was for Spike to decide the balcony was the perfect spot to make out with Buffy.  
  
From his quiet shadowy corner he saw Buffy back Spike up against the balcony wall, much as she had backed him up against the wall of her bedroom earlier in the evening. Angel winced as it seemed that Spike looked straight at him as he cupped Buffy's mermaid backside in his hands and lifted her against him.  
  
Angel shuddered as he heard Buffy moan, that was more than enough. Hastily he stood up, grabbed the champagne and dish of chocolate-coated strawberries he had been stuffing himself with, swung his legs over the balcony wall and lightly dropped to the ground a few feet below. He stood still for a minute, gathering his dignity and self-control before he did something stupid like crying or telling Spike the truth about Buffy. Then he stormed off up the garden. He needed to be far away from people right now. His bedroom would be the ideal spot but he couldn't face walking through the crowd just yet, or worse, the idea that Buffy and Spike might come upstairs to her bedroom while he was busy moping next door.  
  
*******************  
  
Spike lifted his lips from his new girlfriend's and smiled again, "Are you sure Buffy went off up the garden love?" he asked seriously.  
  
Faith pressed a kiss to his nearest gorgeous cheekbone and nodded, "That was nearly an hour ago though."  
  
"Well, Angel just went that way too, what do you wanna bet they run into each other and figure some things out."  
  
"Hey! How do you know where Angel went? You were kissing me until a few seconds ago."  
  
Spike grinned, "He was sitting in the corner of the balcony so I let him see the show and get a bit miffed about it, he dived over the wall a minute ago and I saw he stomped up the garden."  
  
"Spike!"  
  
"Nothing wrong with making him feel bad before he gets to the real Buffy and starts to feel good." Spike told her unrepentantly. "Now where were we?"  
  
Faith tried and failed to look annoyed, "Right about here."  
  
She kissed him. 


	8. Possibilities

Hey guys, sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out but I just had the week from HELL and wasn't in the mood to write anything fluffy, or anything at all for that matter - except my letter of resignation for my boss! Uhrg, now I have to get a new job - hate job-hunting, blach!  
  
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Angel strode up the path until the lights and music of the house were a dim blur behind him, not for the first time in his life he was very grateful for such a large garden to hide in. It was so big that if you didn't want to be found then you wouldn't be. He slowed his pace and took another gulp of champagne, pausing to look up at the tree house he and Spike had built as kids with the help of their dad. The thick wooden ladder was still propped securely against the tree and for a moment he was tempted to climb up and maybe even sleep up there, though he suspected he'd need more than the bottle of champagne to send him off tonight.  
  
He kept walking until he reached a heavy stone picnic table that was always in the garden all year round. He slumped down onto one of the long stone seats and dumped the enormous dish of chocolate-coated strawberries and champagne on the table with a sigh. It was doubtful that anyone else would wander this far up the garden tonight. Thankfully, he could be alone for a bit.  
  
He reached down under the table hoping a couple of lanterns would be under the table where they were usually stored, complete with lemony candles to keep bugs at bay. He was lucky and found two with relatively new candles and proceeded to light them with the silver lighter he carried - despite the fact that he no longer smoked; though tonight he was wishing he did!  
  
He pushed his mask higher up on his head before snapping it off and laying it on the table. He stared absently at its simple chiselled lines as he wondered what the hell had been going on in his head all day, or ever since he had laid eyes on the stunning Buffy Summers. He had acted totally out of character and then actually expected to-  
  
He frowned, what he had expected he wasn't sure but the way she had made him feel wasn't a sensation he was used to and he had wanted more of it.  
  
He took another gulp of champagne and grimaced, in short he had acted like a total idiot. She'd been trying to explain something to him after their kiss too, but like the idiot he was he had cut across her explanation and made a run for it. Not that her explanation could have been much good, but still, he should have listened to her and maybe understood what was happening. Instead he was sitting outside feeling as if he'd spent the last twenty-four hours on a roller coaster with no idea why.  
  
To sum up his feelings Buffy had successfully put his heart and libido in the blender and had pressed frappe! He lowered his forehead to the tabletop but resisted the urge to bang it, as it would probably hurt like hell and he didn't need physical injuries too. He groaned to himself, there was absolutely no way out of this one, he had actually done possibly the most stupid thing in the world - he had fallen in love with his brother's future wife. Not just in lust, but in love.  
  
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Buffy scowled at her lightly growling belly, she really would have to go in for food soon. Her stomach was voicing its resentment at emptiness increasingly more often. Besides, there was only so much time a girl could spend sitting alone under a tree wallowing in self-pity that she had scared off the only guy she had ever really, really liked in a romantic sense.  
  
Buffy pulled a face, actually time spent wallowing on that subject could be unlimited particularly if assisted by ice cream, weepy movies and a fat duvet. After all, it wasn't everyday you met the absolutely perfect guy you could see yourself marrying and then frightened him off.  
  
Decided, she scrambled to her feet and pulled her mask back on. If she was going back in she needed that mask. Hoping her wig hadn't slipped too much she began carefully making her way back down the garden in the darkness.  
  
When she rounded a curve in the path she spotted two little lights fluttering weakly through the darkness. That didn't look like the house but it had to be somebody who might not mind lending her a light to guide her back to the house. In trainers and jeans the walk wouldn't be a problem but sweeping skirts and four-inch heels did not promote balance and grace so a bit of light would really help.  
  
She moved towards the lights realizing as she drew near that shouting out a warning that she was coming might be a good idea. Because she sure as hell wouldn't like being sneaked up on in the dark if it was at all avoidable.  
  
"Um, Hi." She said from a few yards away.  
  
Angel froze. That voice sounded a lot like Buffy, but his lucky brother was indoors slobbering on her - wasn't he?  
  
Hastily he swallowed his mouthful of strawberry, "Um, Hi?" he replied.  
  
A voice that was unmistakably Buffy came out of the darkness a few yards behind him, "Angel? Uh, is that you?" 


	9. Perfect

Uh oh, I'm getting really slack with all this updating stuff - or lack thereof. I'm sorry but my heart isn't in it a lot of the time right now because my 9 - 5 life sucks sooo badly. Thank you to all the nice people who are still reading and reviewing me; it is greatly appreciated.  
  
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Angel swivelled his head around and faced the direction Buffy's voice had come from. He blinked into the gloom thinking that he must have drunk more champagne than he had thought if he was hearing Buffy talking to him in the garden when she was indoors with his brother having a marvellous time.  
  
Then a slender feminine figure drifted out of the shadows to approach the table. A slender feminine figure dressed in richly rustling crimson silk with long loops of dark hair sweeping her shoulders and falling neatly around a dramatic mask. His heart sank and he turned an accusing eye on the bottle, damn stuff - making him hear Buffy when it was only Faith.  
  
There was something indefinable in her tone when she said "What are you doing hiding away up here?"  
  
Angel squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment; great, he was still hearing Buffy. Perhaps his head or ears needed examining.  
  
Then a hand wafted in front of his face, "Hey, you okay?"  
  
Angel automatically forced a nod even as his mind raced as his eyes caught a glimmer of silver on her thumbnail and without thinking he grabbed her hand and took a closer look. Tiny silver stars joined the rich red polish on her thumbnails, it was something he had noticed on Buffy the previous evening and commented on. She had admitted that she was a sucker for nice/interesting nails and almost always wore the tiny silver stars. So unless Faith was in on Buffy's manicure fetish and had taken to sounding more Californian than Bostonian then this was Buffy.  
  
As his brain slowly processed this welcome and confusing information the woman gently retrieved her hand from his unresisting one, yanked off her mask and planted it on the table beside him. A lush dark wig followed and moments later Buffy had joined him on the bench with flushed cheeks and mussed blonde hair half escaping from the pins that held it in a once neat coil. Angel stared. He had never seen anyone look more beautiful and better still there was nothing fishy about her at all!  
  
Buffy smiled shyly at Angel's dazed expression; clearly he had been one of those fooled by the wigs she and Faith had worn.  
  
If she didn't mess it up she had not only found food but she had also gained the very unexpected chance to explain properly why Spike wasn't an issue. She just had to hope he was in a mood to listen and that he actually liked her even half as much as she liked him.  
  
Putting up a slightly shaky hand to push some loose hair out of her face she smiled nervously at him, before making a grab for a chocolate-coated strawberry. Some kind of reinforcement was necessary after all. She bit into the juicy fruit and slurped at the sticky chocolate considering quickly how to explain. Had he seen Faith and Spike 'together' tonight? Things would be much easier if he had. Gods, where to begin unravelling the whole utterly disastrous mess they had somehow created without coming across as a psychopath? Really, she admitted to herself, it would've been easier to explain much earlier, but try as she might she couldn't really think of a time that would have been suitable.  
  
Having seen Buffy glide out of the shadows without a single shell or scale to be seen had been enough to put Angel's pulse in the danger zone but to have her sit down next to him and help herself to his 'dinner' was enough to make his mouth water.  
  
She probably wasn't aware that she had daintily selected a fruit and bitten into it with a moan that made his body jump to attention. She hadn't seemed aware that her eyes had almost closed as she smiled to herself, sucking juice and melting candy. Angel stared at her, hardly able to believe his perfect good luck. Spike had certainly looked perfectly happy with someone earlier on and that someone hadn't been Buffy - so he didn't seem to need to worry about upsetting Spike. Instead Buffy was alone with him, which meant he still had a shot. A good shot too, judging by their incendiary kiss of earlier. Now if she could just be persuaded into a repeat performance of that. Or he could just kiss her and see once and for all how matters stood. Angel swallowed hard, not quite sure if he dared to risk it.  
  
Hoping fervently that his sense of humor was in good working order tonight Buffy decided to begin honestly from the top with the snivelling 5:26 wake up call that had started all the damage and she would just tell him the whole story and pray he still liked her enough to at least go on a date. She just wouldn't mention her fantasies centering around Venetian honeymoons! Taking a deep breath she opened her mouth to begin.  
  
She never had the chance to speak because Angel's lips were covering her own.  
  
"Glmph." Buffy managed before her brain shut down and she eagerly twined her fingers into Angel's hair and returned his kiss.  
  
Now this makes things much easier, she thought dimly as Angel shifted her closer in his arms pulling her from the bench into his lap. Then she didn't think much at all for the next ten minutes as she lost herself in the most passionate and perfect kiss she had ever experienced.  
  
Explanations could wait just a little longer. 


	10. Persuasion

Here I am again. Another update! A decent sized one this time too. (Pats self on back)  
  
I'm sorry to those of you who like this fic but I don't think it will be all that many chapters longer, I had initially planned to finish this story in about ten chapters so I could get back to my other temporarily abandoned fic quicker as I feel bad for leaving that on a cliff-hanger. Then I had a nice review from someone who described Buffy and Angel as 'in a maze' when they were both out in the garden, well, it wasn't quite intended that way but when I looked it over I can see how it was read that way and therefore I intend to grab that great idea and run with it. It is what made me decide not to end the story sooner and gave me evil ideas! Those happy the story isn't just about to end should thank Catlimere for accidentally unleashing that particular plot bunny on me! I reckon I'm good for about fifteen chapters now!  
  
Many thanks to all the lovely reviewers; I wouldn't be a happy or inspired author without you!  
  
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"Wow," she breathed as the kiss ended. Impossibly, that second kiss had been even better than the first.  
  
Angel smiled slightly as they rested their foreheads together for a moment, she sounded as unsteady as he felt. When she kissed him it turned his mind to mush and the world fell away to become just the two of them. Not that he would voice that just yet, as until yesterday she and Spike had been together, but these past few moments had given him hope - in a hefty dose.  
  
He kept her wrapped tightly in his arms and eased back slightly to look at her better. The words came unbidden and wondering before he could snatch them back, "I have never felt like this before." It seemed that neither his heart nor mouth could be persuaded to behave.  
  
Buffy flushed happily, "Me either." Her tiny fingers crept up to trace his jaw and guide his lips to hers, "I am so happy to be here, with you."  
  
At the back of his mind Angel was aware that they still hadn't resolved the possible problem of his brother but with Buffy kissing him like this he just couldn't bring himself to care quite enough to stop her and insist she explain. Spike was indoors with another woman, probably Faith now he thought about it and Buffy was out here in his arms. What could go wrong?  
  
"Oy! Buff? Angel? You up there?"  
  
Buffy froze in his arms and pulled her mouth from his mid kiss. Within a second she was out of his arms and on her feet.  
  
Okay, so that could go wrong. Angel grimaced and followed suit; trust Spike to ruin things. Though to judge by Buffy's behaviour at his shouts there hadn't been much to ruin. He could admit it; he was totally confused. If he didn't think he knew Buffy better he'd say this was a horrible prank at his expense, but his judge of character had always been immaculate. Surely he wouldn't fall for a bad woman? He smiled wryly, not bad, just dangerous. If Buffy were about to hurt him or break his heart she wouldn't be doing it deliberately.  
  
Then unexpectedly she whirled around to face him in a flurry of skirts and lacey petticoats and grabbed his sleeve. "We need to go." She whispered, "I want to explain things to you myself, not with Spike laughing himself sick in the background and putting in his ten cents worth."  
  
"Yoo Hooooo!" hollered Spike. Luckily he was still some distance away.  
  
Angel eyed her for a brief moment, he quite agreed with her. Spike could find very inappropriate things funny and if he was about to be made an idiot of he preferred not to have his brother as a witness. Hastily he blew out the two softly flickering lanterns plunging them into near darkness and scooped up the half-full bottle of champagne.  
  
To his amusement Buffy was equally quick to grab the dish of candied berries, hugging them to her breast she looked at him expectantly, "It's your garden," she reminded him gently. "Where's private, that we can talk?"  
  
Angel quickly considered, they might be able to make it into the tree house, which Spike wouldn't necessarily think to check, but if he did then they would be cornered. It would all depend on how determined Spike was to talk to them, though there was one place that Spike almost certainly wouldn't follow.  
  
"Buffy, are you there?"  
  
Faith was with Spike he realised, as the Bostonian accent he had expected to hear a little earlier cut through the night. What was going on that Faith and Spike were stalking them in the garden?  
  
"We need to talk to you guys!"  
  
Angel didn't wait to hear more; he gently took Buffy's upper arm and guided her unresisting towards the end of the garden.  
  
Buffy allowed herself to be led, though she had no idea of where they were going. She had given the gorgeous, spacious garden a pretty thorough exploration when she had arrived and as far as she could remember Angel was leading her towards the tall, thick hedges that ran along the bottom and sides of the garden, then even in the gloom she saw a small gap in the hedge and her mouth fell open. Her hostess had mentioned a maze in passing but she had assumed it was a kind of tourist attraction nearby; after all, it wasn't exactly something you often saw on private land.  
  
"Won't he follow us in?" she whispered as they stepped through the gap with Angel immediately turning left.  
  
Angel chuckled quietly as he began to lead them deeper into the maze, "Spike could get lost in a grocery sack, I assumed you'd know that."  
  
Buffy giggled, "Well, yeah. I know his sense of direction could be better, like a lot better but this maze has obviously been here longer than he has so surely he knows the way to the middle by now?"  
  
Angel snorted as he chose yet another left. "He hid in here as a kid since he'd just stolen my toy truck but then when it was time for lunch he couldn't get out. He'd been stuck for quite a few hours until mom found him and he hasn't been back much since."  
  
Buffy smiled slightly, "Well let's hope he doesn't come over all brave now." She walked in silence for a few more minutes and then smiled to herself, "Is it me or are you just taking almost every left turn there is?"  
  
Though she couldn't see his face she could feel his smile, "Yeah, you can solve any maze by taking every single left turn, though of course I know a few of them here are dead ends so I skip them. Don't tell Spike, but a blind man could get in and out of here simply by always turning left and just keeping his left hand on the wall at all times."  
  
"You learn something new everyday." Buffy teased softly right before she gasped and almost dropped the dish she carried.  
  
"Mom used to call it hidden paradise when I was little." He offered. "My Great Grandfather built the garden as a wedding gift for his fiancée and grew the maze around it. I always liked to read here as a kid, there should even be a sofa and lanterns and stuff in the temple thingy if it's still like it used to be."  
  
Buffy gazed around her in delight, it seemed that the moon had finally decided to soar high in the sky, free of clouds and it lit up the marble columns of the admittedly Greek temple-like summerhouse. Flowers, shrubs, trees, benches, statues and even a small lake glowed silver and ghostly in the moonlight. She half wanted to stand and gawp at the beauty of the garden but Angel was already heading towards the 'temple' and she needed to talk to him more than she needed to stand and stare. She just hoped he wasn't too mad, and that Spike didn't have a sudden attack of finding his way any time soon.  
  
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"Where the hell did they go?" grumbled Spike as he stared at the still hot lanterns, part full of melted wax. "They had to have been here when we started shouting."  
  
"You mean when you started shouting," corrected Faith. "I told you they might take off if we were interrupting something a bit personal."  
  
Spike snorted, "Yeah right. Neither Buffy nor my charming brother are the sort to shag on the sodding garden furniture!"  
  
Faith shrugged, "Who knows, but that wasn't what I meant anyway. They're only just getting to know each other and probably don't want to be disturbed."  
  
"Well how can the two of you swap costumes for the unmasking if Buffy has bloody well tramped off with Angel for some quality time with his tonsils!"  
  
Faith hid a smirk, "Unless you actually have a clue about where they are I suggest we go back to the party and just happen to disappear prior to the unmasking."  
  
"But Buff and me are the guests of honor!"  
  
"And you got distracted and went off to smooch!" Faith retaliated, "You can talk your way through it tomorrow if need be, I don't think persuading people that two lovebirds have disappeared off to bed will be particularly difficult."  
  
"Bed, eh?" Spike asked with a lascivious smirk.  
  
Faith rolled her eyes, "you know what I mean!" Hitching up her skirt to mid thigh she wrestled the torch from Spike and shone it about a bit. "Where do you think they might've gone?"  
  
"Tree house!" Spike bellowed suddenly and set off at a gallop with Faith tottering behind him as he made for the largest tree on the property.  
  
A few minutes later he had scrambled down again a little chastened, "Well I guess that would've been too easy."  
  
"Anywhere else?" Grumbled Faith, "Because I'm thinking plan b right now."  
  
"The maze." Spike said suddenly.  
  
"The maze?" echoed Faith, "You guys have a maze?" she shook her head in disbelief, "Well, lets check it out."  
  
Spike pulled a face, "I don't know the way in, or out for that matter. I'd probably just get us lost so if Angel has dragged Buffy in there they can damn well stay in there."  
  
"But what if they decide to waltz back out at the very wrong moment and we end up making lousy explanations in front of the guests? Your mom would kill you for sure."  
  
"Why me?!"  
  
Faith folded her arms and looked at him meaningfully, "Ooh, maybe because it's your fault."  
  
"I guess." He agreed reluctantly." Okay, I say we go and shout at them."  
  
"As they hide in the middle of the maze?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"I worry about you."  
  
Spike shrugged, I worry about me. I worry about my health when mom discovers the monstrous disaster I've created."  
  
Faith grinned as she followed him towards what she had assumed was the rear hedge of the garden, "move over Doctor Frankenstein." She kidded.  
  
"Har, Har."  
  
"So seriously, we're just gonna stand here and yell at the hedge?"  
  
"Pretty much." Spike agreed. "Well here goes. Oy! Buffy and Angel! If you two are lurking in that maze listen up. It would probably be best if the whole thing doesn't come out tonight, we can explain it all to mom after the party. Just don't go marching back in the front entrance tonight okay? Either be in your rooms before midnight or stay out here until later and sneak back in then. Okay?"  
  
He turned to Faith, "I think that's pretty much the best we can do."  
  
Faith nodded, "perhaps we should take our own advice and be safely tucked up in bed before midnight. Maybe even let a few people see us sneaking upstairs."  
  
Spike grinned, "Okay."  
  
"We should probably both be in your room too, just to make it look convincing."  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
Faith smiled, "Then lets go lover, we only have all night."  
  
"I can't persuade you to the morning too?"  
  
Faith chuckled, "How persuasive are you?"  
  
"Very."  
  
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Buffy and Angel stood in the doorway of the mini temple and listened to Spike bellowing at them. Despite the distance his lungs were up to the job and they had both heard every word. Angel was merely confused by Spike's words but Buffy was grateful, very grateful in fact that he hadn't been more in depth about the whole mess. He had cued her in well for an explanation without an unnecessary word. She just had to be brave and believe that Angel wouldn't be too angry. She'd need all her powers of persuasion tonight that was for sure, somehow she had the sense that he was a very upright kind of guy and might not totally understand their reasoning behind the subterfuge - reasoning that was seeming more cracked by the second.  
  
Buffy gulped nervously at the champagne Angel had poured her in a crystal goblet; apparently the temple was kept well stocked with a bit more than lanterns and a sofa she noted, it was furnished almost as well as a proper house.  
  
Angel was looking at her expectantly though. Apparently this time she was going to get to tell her tale. She walked down the few steps in front of the temple and made her way to the bench where she plonked herself down in an effort to ensure her knees didn't knock together too obviously, after a second Angel joined her and she began to babble, her half prepared speech forgotten in her desire to convince him of the most important truth. "Angel, about me and Spike, or rather the total lack of me and Spike. Because there is no me and Spike. I am a Spike free zone. Except in a friend type way. We, well, I don't feel that way, not about him, never about him. I uh-" She tailed off and paused for air gauging his reaction, no explosion yet. That was good right?  
  
Angel was puzzled; she was denying ever having felt anything for Spike? Had she wanted his money? Was she trading him in for the richer brother? Quickly he shook off that thought, Buffy wasn't like those women, there had to be a reasonable explanation. Besides, if she had never loved Spike what did that mean for him? He took her hand and smiled reassuringly at her, his heart beating furiously with fear for his own rejection and relief at his brother's. "Tell me?" 


	11. Persuaded?

Thank you once again to all the reviewers, it's great to know somebody reads my drivel and likes it!  
  
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Buffy twined her fingers into Angel's, enjoying the contact and reassurance. Well he hadn't flipped yet so that was a good start; instead he just looked confused which could still lead to rage. Buffy gulped, no matter that they had behaved with good intentions she and Spike were going to end up hurting someone. The road to hell is paved with good intentions she recalled one of her mom's little sayings. Perhaps she could weasel out of it and hide, leaving explanations to Spike. But then Angel would never respect her, and she wanted his respect.  
  
"Okay, so uh, I don't know how much you know about me and Spike, how long we've known each other and stuff." She started with an inquiring look at Angel.  
  
"Not much," he responded slowly, "You told me you two had been friends for about four years."  
  
"Which we have." Buffy took a deep breath, she had to stop dancing around it and just tell him. "Which is all we have ever been to each other. I've never even kissed Spike except for show."  
  
"For show?"  
  
Uh oh, he was frowning now. Buffy winced even though she couldn't make out if it was a confused frown or a grumpy frown.  
  
"Okay, starting at the beginning." She managed with a strangled laugh. "Spike is my buddy and when his long-time girlfriend Cordy dumped him for someone he hates and then flaunted it I suggested he demonstrate to her how much he didn't care by dating someone else."  
  
"You?"  
  
"Well not exactly. When I told him he needed to be seen with someone else I really meant get a new girlfriend but he didn't want to because Cordy had always thought I was a big rival and he wanted to annoy her."  
  
"And you went along with this?"  
  
Definitely a grumpy frown, Buffy gulped "Well yeah, he's my bud and friends help friends, you know?"  
  
Angel pulled his hand free and got to his feet, "That doesn't explain why my mom is worked up about the two of you being engaged. Knowing what she's like I'm surprised she hasn't ordered the cake already!"  
  
Buffy winced, like she didn't feel bad enough already! "Well it all just kind of snowballed and got out of hand and once it was all in motion we couldn't seem to get out of the way in time and we got rolled up in it!"  
  
Angel looked back at her and gave a short bark of laughter. "I'm sure you did."  
  
Buffy raised her chin, she hadn't lost yet - after all he was still standing there listening and hadn't just bolted out of the maze, although maybe he was just too much of a gentleman to abandon a girl in a maze at night time. Not a comforting thought.  
  
"Well you see we just planned to mock date for a month or two - long enough to show Cordy that he wasn't really upset and then we could amicably break up and he could find someone else to date for real with his pride intact!"  
  
"Still not explaining it." Angel returned shortly, his voice bitter with disappointment. He'd really thought more of Buffy than this. He turned away, "I think we should follow Spike's excellent advice and get indoors before midnight."  
  
"Wait just a minute, please Angel." Buffy gasped scrambling to her feet as he began to walk towards the temple.  
  
He paused with his back to her. "Yes?"  
  
He sounded like a polite stranger. Buffy could feel her eyes start to go glassy, this could not be happening. She couldn't be about to lose him completely could she? "Can I just finish explaining what did happen? If you still don't like what you hear then we can go in."  
  
Angel struggled with the decision. Was that a wobble in her voice? He couldn't bear the idea that he was about to make her cry. But what she and Spike had done was wrong; when they were forced to explain themselves his family were going to be so hurt. But somehow the idea of Buffy in tears was worse. "Fine." He said shortly.  
  
There was a distinct sniff from behind him, "Well you see we went out to dinner at the same restaurant Cordelia and her new guy were eating in and I'd deliberately worn a really similar outfit and she was kind of irate."  
  
Angel stifled a smile at the idea.  
  
"It was sort of early days and Spike was tipsy and made it clear how over her he was by telling her that not only did I look better in the dress we were both wearing but that I looked so much better he was going to marry me."  
  
Angel frowned and half turned back to her, if this was true then the snowball effect had been Spike's fault. It didn't make Buffy blameless but still-  
  
Buffy smiled faintly at him, "It probably would've been okay but your mom's friends Irene, Jake and a few others were sitting two tables away."  
  
"Oh." Now he was beginning to see.  
  
"Yeah, Oh." Buffy said, "Before we knew where we were we got congratulations all around and either went along with it or looked really stupid in front of Cordy and Wes."  
  
"And Irene rushed straight off to tell mom who had probably made announcements and sent out the invitations before either of you had time to breathe?" Angel finished for her with a small smile. Now he could see how things had accidentally snowballed he could feel quite sorry for the two conspirators and feel quite smug for himself. Clearly he was the only brother Buffy was interested in.  
  
Buffy watched Angel nervously as she nodded her agreement to his last statement, was that a smile she could see in the dim light?  
  
"Well, if we manage to get this cleared up with the minimum amount of bloodshed perhaps you'd like to go on a real dinner date, with me?" Angel asked over a sudden rumble of thunder.  
  
Buffy beamed at him as rain suddenly began to sprinkle lightly down, "Most definitely."  
  
He grinned at her and took her hand in his, "Guess we'd better sprint back to the house before we get drowned."  
  
He started towards the exit to the maze but Buffy hesitated, "We could grab what's left of our refreshments and go sit in my room and chat if you like?" she offered.  
  
Angel nodded and they doubled back to the temple just as the rain began coming down in earnest. In the time they took to cover the twenty yards between them and the doorway the rain had gone from light to massive drops the size of golf balls and both of them were on the damp side of things.  
  
"Where did that come from?" Spluttered Buffy in disgust as she peeled wet strands of hair off her cheeks.  
  
Angel shrugged, "It's just a freak storm, it shouldn't last too long."  
  
Buffy shrugged in return as she pulled off her boots and curled up her feet, making herself comfortable on the enormous sofa, "Least we have food and drink," She blissfully stuffed a strawberry into her mouth before taking a swig of champagne and pulling a face. "Ung, that's kind of flat now."  
  
Angel removed his damply heavy jacket and hung it up, before prowling into the small kitchen area "There might be something to drink around here somewhere."  
  
Moments later he was back with more champagne and glasses.  
  
"Wow, I'm impressed." Murmured Buffy watching as he poured them both a glass. She busied herself with nibbling at another strawberry in an effort not to stare and salivate at his yummy muscles outlined by the body hugging silky black shirt he was wearing.  
  
Then he sat down next to her and smiled and Buffy remembered that as he had asked her out and they were both free and single she had every right to drool. Then an unpleasant thought popped into her head. "Uh Angel?"  
  
"Yeah?" he grinned at her.  
  
"You know you have your life in New York and I have my life in Sunnydale and L.A? Where and when are we going to have a date? It's sort of awkward isn't it as we won't even be in the same time zone?"  
  
Angel smiled slightly, "If I was planning to stay in New York then yeah it might be a problem but as I am very seriously thinking about moving closer to home and doing something different I think it will be okay."  
  
"You're moving?" Buffy chirped in amazement and joy.  
  
"Yep, I got bored with what I was doing. I used to have something to prove but I think I proved it and now I want to kick back and enjoy life more." He grinned. "Maybe start looking for the perfect girl."  
  
Buffy blushed, "Got any candidates yet?"  
  
Angel smiled and tugged the bowl of berries out of her hands and plunked it on the table in front of them, he gently caressed her face with his fingertips and leant closer with a smile, "Just the one."  
  
"Really?" Buffy asked coyly as he leant in to kiss her, "Anyone I know?"  
  
Angel smiled, "I was about to kiss her."  
  
"Then get on with it!"  
  
"With pleasure." 


	12. Paradise

Thank you all very much for more lovely reviews, I still can't believe how many I have had for this fic.  
  
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Buffy sat blissfully curled up on the couch clutching her third almost untouched glass of champagne watching Angel's very nice rear view with a dreamy sort of pleasure as he stood in the doorway watching the rain lashing down. He was illuminated in the doorway by a flash of lightning and Buffy drew in her breath in admiration, he always looked great but silhouetted in the doorway like that in that tight black outfit he really was just the perfect, slightly dangerous yum. Then he turned back to face her and Buffy yanked her eyes away realizing that she was now staring someplace else other than his butt!  
  
"I think we probably should have made a run for it while we could." He said with a wry smile sitting back down next to her and settling her against him, "We'll have to go in at some point and I don't think this is going to stop any time soon."  
  
Buffy placed her champagne on the table in favour of snuggling her head into his shoulder while cradling one very nicely formed bicep between her hands. "What time is it?"  
  
"Eleven thirty. If we're going in any time soon it will have to be now."  
  
"We could hope after midnight weather is kinder."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Even so the garden is probably going to be a bit soggy and muddy, my dress is going to get ruined anyway."  
  
"I could carry you."  
  
"With the amount of donuts I eat each week? Doubtful!"  
  
Angel grinned and pulled her into his arms and stood up with her, "Feather light." He proclaimed teasingly, "I don't think you have so much as a donut a year."  
  
Buffy grinned back as she happily nuzzled her face into his neck, "You're just showing off, with all this macho man-ness, I could still take you."  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow, "Really?"  
  
"Did I or did I not tell you I run a martial arts center?"  
  
"You did, but I guess I didn't mention that when I go to the gym, as I frequently do, I spend most of my time kick-boxing."  
  
Buffy grinned delightedly, "No kidding? Maybe you can come and work for me, I need another instructor as my own class is about to overflow." She wriggled in his arms, "Want a demo?" she teased.  
  
Angel tightened his hold and smirked at her, "Uh uh, I got you and I'm not letting go. Especially not to be pummeled."  
  
Buffy pouted, "Okay, I guess you do."  
  
As Angel relaxed his hold she squirmed quickly from his arms and flattened him onto the couch with a delighted giggle. "Uh uh, I think I got you!"  
  
Angel shrugged as best he could while lying across the large squashy couch with Buffy in a heavy, full-skirted ball dress sprawled across him. He gently tucked her hair out of her eyes and grinned at her, "Maybe I wanted to be got and maybe under you was where I wanted to be right now."  
  
Buffy sat up slightly with a mildly shocked expression on her face and Angel could have immediately bitten his tongue out. He'd known her barely any time at all and he was making an insinuation like that? Okay so it hadn't quite been, 'Buffy, take all your clothes off, I long to ravish you' but it was still enough for her to know the direction his mind had zipped off in. Which would be the gutter.  
  
Then she smiled back a touch saucily and his heart began to slam against his ribcage as she raked her fingernails down his chest, catching a nipple arousingly even through the silk of his shirt. "Why Angel," she purred, "I had no idea that you would enjoy me in the role of dominatrix!"  
  
Angel's heart was still trying to jump clean out of his chest even as his hands crept up to clasp her hips and shuffle her further up his body so if he just stretched up he could kiss her-  
  
Buffy was berating herself noiselessly, firstly, what had possessed her to pounce on Angel? Okay that was easy, his extreme hotness and maybe just a sip too much champagne. But to make that dominatrix comment - what was she thinking?! Uhrgh! The very idea of dominating anyone, even Angel made her hair stand on end. For every other man it was general disinterest but with Angel it was the fear factor. Because what if she did it wrong? She decided to ignore the idea, pretend she'd never said it and just enjoy kissing him. Only kissing mind, because despite having bad lusty ideas it didn't mean she had to act on them - right?  
  
Angel ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair and sighed with pleasure as her lips and tongue just kept tangling with his. The only way to describe the whole feeling was paradise. Which made sense, as he was in their mini-paradise garden house.  
  
He was stretched out on one of the most comfortable old sofa's in the world and he had the most perfect, gorgeous woman stretched full length on top of him kissing him as if she would never be able to stop. Yep, definitely Paradise. Despite her teasing and dominatrix comment from earlier she had made no effort to deepen the contact between them, which bizarrely he was more than happy about. Despite a part of him that was aching to do more than they were he felt relieved that his inexperience wouldn't be called upon to possibly ruin the magic of the moment. With the storm screaming and pounding around them they were totally shut off from everyone else and they were sharing the most perfect kisses that seemed to last forever. It was moments of time that he would want to re-live again and again in his mind and for real.  
  
Buffy's head was swimming, she was limp in Angel's strong arms, and breathless with kissing a man she was rapidly realizing that she could never kiss enough. There was an unreality to the situation as if it was too perfect to be real and that he'd decide in the morning that he didn't actually want to leave New York; that he had a dozen Ms Perfect candidates lined up or something. Yet she trusted him, when he said he wanted only her she believed him, when he claimed to be planning to move from coast to coast she was half planning her dress for his housewarming party without considering otherwise. This guy was the one perfect one that she and her friends had giggled about in high school, the one that she had to grab and never let go. So what if a day or two wasn't considered long enough to love somebody, it was rubbish to be putting time limits on feelings.  
  
She had been nearly knocked on her ass by their physical chemistry within a second of meeting him, within an hour she had been full of appreciation for the personality he had, within a day she had fallen in love with all the tiny things she couldn't begin to count or identify and she knew for sure that it would take her a lifetime to forget him.  
  
Please let him feel the same way, was almost all she could think, as she lay pressed against his chest, cradled in his strong arms listening to his heartbeat. She had never felt so safe or loved.  
  
Please let the feeling be real, She thought. 


	13. Protection

And another chapter! Go Me! (Okay I admit it - the last one was just on the short side and I felt bad, particularly as I took so long to update! Then I got writing again and couldn't stop.)  
  
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Angel stirred as something tickled his ear, as he wasn't used to things that tickled his ear when he slept it was enough to make him surface from sleep to realise that the something that tickled him was a lock of Buffy's hair. She was asleep in his arms!  
  
Which was pretty obvious to someone of even the meanest of intelligence as that was where he had last seen her. Duh. He eased his arms away from where he held her tightly in an effort to sneak a look at his watch but was diverted by a grumpy growl from his brand new girlfriend. She was his girlfriend right?  
  
"Not a morning person huh?" he whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to her creased forehead.  
  
She briefly screwed up her face further, looking impossibly cute as she did so before mustering a smile and burrowing her face back against his chest with an unintelligible but happy sounding mumble.  
  
Angel let her snooze; thankful that she wasn't awake enough to feel how waking up with her in his arms had affected him, or rather a certain part of his anatomy. After schooling himself to think about less pleasant things and regaining control he gently shifted his body in an effort to wake her again. He was rewarded by one slightly bleary eye popping open.  
  
"It's nearly two in the morning Buffy."  
  
The eye half closed, "Mmmpff."  
  
"The rain's stopped and the party could be winding down pretty soon."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"It's getting a little bit cold out here and there aren't actually any blankets or anything."  
  
Buffy shunted herself upright, "Ugh, okay but as soon as we get back to the house you get into my bed in exactly that position so I can keep on sleeping that well."  
  
Angel smiled at her happily, "I aim to please." It might not be a traditional invitation into a woman's bed but it was one that he was very pleased to accept.  
  
"Okay then."  
  
After lighting a fresh lantern apiece and shutting the temple doors they retraced their steps through the maze, by the time the reached the exit in the outer hedge both were shivering miserably despite Angel loaning Buffy his coat and trying to rush them along.  
  
"I'm glad you woke me up now," commented Buffy as she snuggled deeper into the Angel scented confines of his jacket. "This weather is so miserable, I wonder if I dreamt the warm sunshine this morning and nice as the temple is I really don't fancy it in sub-zero temperatures."  
  
Angel chuckled at her exaggeration, "Yeah, but at least it's just cold now instead of wet too."  
  
Buffy playfully whacked Angel on the arm as he swept her into his arms to carry her over the lawn and back to the pathway that only ran three quarters of the way up the garden. "Now you just went and jinxed the whole thing, it'll rain again now."  
  
As if in response to her words there was an answering rumble of thunder.  
  
Buffy squeaked in dismay as rain gently began spattering down again a minute later, "I was just kidding!"  
  
By the time Angel had set her back on her feet as he reached the stone path the rain was back to pounding down. Buffy hitched up her skirts and broke into a sprint, she was probably going to look wretched and drowned rat-like by the time she gained the safety of the house. Angel ran past her with a shout of "Follow me!" heading down a path she could barely see but he clearly hadn't forgotten in his years away.  
  
At last the house was in sight and Angel veered away to the left instead of heading for the nearby side door or balcony steps. "Kitchen should be empty." He called over his shoulder. That made sense Buffy realized, they were still trying to hide after all.  
  
At last they reached the protection of the kitchen doorway with its sheltering overhang. Angel cracked the door open and poked his head into the dimly lit room. The coast was clear and they quickly scurried in and down a corridor to the rear staircase. Hand in hand they ran lightly up it before peeping around the corner to see if anyone was about. To judge by the music and laughter still going on in the ballroom it was unlikely that they would run into someone but it was probably better safe than sorry. No matter how desperate Buffy was for the opportunity to comb her hair, check her make up and get out of the now sticky, sodden and very uncomfortable dress.  
  
They reached Angel's bedroom doorway first and he leant down to kiss her briefly, "I'll just get out of these wet clothes and give you a minute to change too and then I can come to your room to sleep if you still want?"  
  
"I still want." Buffy confirmed with a smile as he opened the door. She had only invited him to sleep, which he seemed to understand so he wouldn't come expecting more but if they felt like letting more happen that would be okay too and there would be no pressure. She almost giggled at the idea of what Spike would have to say about the sweet innocent Buffy Summers having such thoughts.  
  
Then the sound of laughter filled the air, someone or rather several someones were about to come around the corner from the main staircase, which wasn't far away. As quick as a flash Buffy darted past Angel into his room and he quickly followed, slamming the door shut. They stood staring at each other stifling the urge to laugh nervously; they had so nearly been caught at the last hurdle! Buffy moved closer to the door and listened, much to her disgust the two or three people whoever they were seemed to be having a conversation right outside the door.  
  
"They're right outside," she hissed at Angel, "How am I supposed to go and make myself decent if they're gonna stand outside and put the world to rights."  
  
Angel leant nearer the door too, "Why couldn't they just go into their damn rooms," he mumbled before nearly jumping out of his skin when a knock at the door came.  
  
Buffy squealed and bolted for the protection of his bathroom without another word, shutting the door sharply.  
  
Angel hastily tore off his shirt that had been clinging damply and briskly towelled his wet hair with a semi-dry towel he had abandoned earlier as both would have been a dead giveaway. Then he marched over to the door and yanked it open, three of his youngest cousins stood outside, two were swaying drunkenly, the third merely looked embarrassed and flushed.  
  
Angel glared from one to another, "What?"  
  
"We come to congratulate you." Slurred one sticking out a hand to slap Angel's shoulder.  
  
"Huh? Why?"  
  
The other swaying one grinned, "You and the lovely Faith have been missing all night!"  
  
"You're the man!" giggled the embarrassed looking one.  
  
Angel could feel a faint blush starting to creep up his neck, "Hey, guys, I wasn't with Faith and what are you, like fifteen now, you shouldn't be drinking, not this much anyway."  
  
"Sixteen actually," corrected the embarrassed one looking slightly ashamed.  
  
Angel rolled his eyes.  
  
"Ah, it's alright. Spike got the knockout Buffy and you snagged hotty Faith. They're both stunners, no-one could blame either of you for vanishing all night."  
  
"We just hope you're being safe about it," chortled the drunkest of the trio as he lurched against the doorframe. "Give it to him Max."  
  
The embarrassed Max dug into his pocket, slapped something into Angel's hand and grabbed the other two and began dragging them away as they hooted with laughter, looking back at Angel and giving him the thumbs up.  
  
Angel shook his head, he hoped for their sakes they were on their way to bed not back to the party as they had clearly overindulged. He looked down at the box in his hand and blushed even more furiously than before. They had given him a triple pack box of condoms!  
  
Hoping their hangovers were terrible because they had only increased his bad thoughts he shut the door and tossed the packet onto his desk nearby. "Buffy?" He called, "Okay they've gone now."  
  
At which Buffy peeped back around the bathroom door, "I couldn't stand my wet dress a moment longer, can you throw me a dry shirt or robe I can wear as all your towels seem to be damp."  
  
Angel gulped and hurried to do as she asked, damn the boys, his mind didn't seem to be able to stay off the topic of sex now, was she naked behind his bathroom door?  
  
"Here you go," he told her as he offered her a long black silk shirt through the gap in the door. "I don't actually have a robe or I'd let you have it."  
  
The shirt was accepted, "That's okay, this will work just as well."  
  
Angel turned away and was rummaging in his untidy chest of drawers looking for a t-shirt and sweatpants to wear when the door clicked open again and Buffy stood in the doorway with her blonde hair combed sleekly round her face and her glamorous make up from earlier washed away. She looked beautiful and the shirt he had given her barely covered her sheerly stockinged legs, despite the fact that he had tried to select the longest, most opaque one in his wardrobe, mainly due to fearing what a shorter flimsy white one would have done to his hormones.  
  
"Hey," she said with a smile as she headed towards his bed and sat down crossing her legs.  
  
He promptly dropped the loose black t-shirt he had chosen. He bent and picked it up with shaking fingers, what was he thinking to be planning to spend an innocent night in her bed; she made him tremble at the very idea so how was he going to cope with the reality? It was the terrible trio's fault, making his mind wander further down a path it had already been straying onto.  
  
"Who was it at the door?" Buffy asked.  
  
He promptly dropped the sweatpants he had just chosen.  
  
"Uh, Angel?" She said amusedly.  
  
"Just some slightly drunk teenaged cousins of mine that's all."  
  
"Oh, what did they want?"  
  
Angel gulped and then found his sense of humor, "Oh to congratulate me on spending a long and glorious night with Faith, then they admonished me about safe sex and passed me a box of prophylactics!"  
  
Buffy stared open mouthed before bursting into fits of giggles. "Oh no, now people don't just think I'm screwing Spike they think you're screwing Faith!"  
  
"It's going to be a big mess that's for sure." Angel agreed, "It's going to look like a big scandalous wife swap."  
  
"Apart from the we're not married part." Buffy put in.  
  
"Well yeah."  
  
Buffy groaned and flopped back on his bed, "I think the snowball just got bigger and faster! It's like something out of a slushy, trashy novel."  
  
Angel absentmindedly pulled his t-shirt on as his brain kicked into gear. He sat down on the bed beside Buffy hardly noticing that her flop back onto the bed had exposed even more leg and some black stocking tops. He eased off his boots and pulled off his socks, tossing them in the general direction of his laundry basket, his hands had got as far as unbuckling his belt before he fully recalled Buffy's presence.  
  
She was sitting up again looking at him curiously. "What you thinking?"  
  
"A possible escape route."  
  
"Really?" Buffy was shocked. She and Spike had been wracking their brains for weeks and hadn't had any very bright ideas.  
  
"Well like you said it's just like something out of a romance novel."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And what genre does my mom adore beyond any other kind of novel?"  
  
"Romance."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Oh. Oh, now I get it. What could be better than one son paired off than two sons paired off?"  
  
"That's what I figure, we might not even have to explain the whole truth of the matter. We can just claim to have had a bit of a re-shuffle in the dating pairs."  
  
"But we can't claim to be engaged any more than Spike and Faith can."  
  
"No but we can be dating seriously with the possibility of marriage someday being waved about."  
  
"Plus you'll be moving back here which would probably compensate for not having a married son." Buffy added slyly. "You do realise we are even worse than Spike for plotting and fibbing now?"  
  
Angel pulled a face, "it's not exactly fibbing though, it's just careful editing of the truth as it stands now, it's not telling more lies it's covering up and disposing of the ones already told."  
  
"You should've been a lawyer." Buffy told him dryly. Before leaning over to give him a hug. "You are a genius though and I quite agree that unpicking the whole thing could be unnecessary. We should probably discuss things with Faith and Spike first though."  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
"Well, now we solved that and your cousins have relieved their dirty minds with a lecture on protection are you getting into those or and coming to my room or are you planning on staying there?"  
  
"We could stay here?" suggested Angel, "You slipping out of my room dressed like that would look very dodgy if anyone saw you."  
  
Buffy grinned and undid a few buttons on the shirt to give him an eye- popping view of cleavage and black lace, "And as lovely as this corset is I don't think I can sleep in it all night and as my panties and stockings are all attached to it they would have to come off too, so-."  
  
Angel stood up swiftly holding the sweatpants casually over his lap, "I'll change, brush my teeth and be right there."  
  
Buffy nodded and stayed where she was, "I'll wait for you." 


	14. Picture Perfect

Thank you all for the reviews and your patience with my less than perfect updating skills!  
  
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Buffy listened to water running in the bathroom and took the opportunity to prowl around investigating Angel's room. It didn't seem to be as generically tidy and guest-roomy as hers so she guessed it had actually been his room when he lived at home. Lots of books and arty bits adorned most surfaces; he didn't seem that super neat either, which was a relief as she wasn't exactly notorious for the orderliness of her personal belongings.  
  
She moved to the desk smiling as she saw the small box with 'Trojan' emblazoned across it; poor Angel, how embarrassing getting a lecture like that from a trio of tipsy teenagers. Then she paused, half tucked under the box and a book was what looked like a pencil drawing of Angel's mom. She hesitated a minute and then shrugged, he probably wouldn't mind and it was on top of his desk not in a drawer or something. She moved the box and book to one side and picked up the sketchpad. The drawing was of Angel's mom and was really well done, a tiny winged 'A' in the corner giving away the artist.  
  
Buffy shook her head, he'd mentioned that he liked to scribble in sketchpads but she hadn't expected him to be that good. Eagerly she flipped through the pages; most were images of the last day or so. She screwed up her nose hoping fervently he hadn't been drawing any ex-girlfriends nude; that was something she so didn't need to see.  
  
She beamed happily when she found a gorgeous drawing of her and Willow together, clutching glasses and each other, laughing at something. She smiled and kept flicking through the book, she vaguely remembered him having a small pad kind of thing on him last night but didn't really recall him actually sitting and drawing her. He must have made brief sketches and touched it up and finished it afterwards. Which was way beyond adorable and really reinforced how much he really did like her.  
  
Pleased by this notion Buffy flipped over another few pages and caught her breath. A drawing of her that was so perfect and detailed that she could pick out the individual lighter and darker flecks of what would be green, gold or brown in her Hazel eyes filled the page. Intricate Celtic knot-work scrolled elegantly in the background and small italic lettering was woven into the pattern.  
  
Buffy began to read the words but tears began to blur her vision. This picture was so beautiful and so much effort had gone into it she felt totally overwhelmed. When she had blinked enough to see the words that almost made her cry properly, so she forced herself to put the sketches back where they had been and went and sat back on the bed with the first line of the poem he had copied down churning in her mind, 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.' Could it be that Angel loved her or was it just a pretty picture with pretty words and some wishful thinking on her part?  
  
Moments later the bathroom door swung open and he padded towards her barefoot, his devastating sex appeal not diminished in the slightest by disastrously messy hair and baggy old sweatpants. "I was just thinking." He said.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Maybe we should write notes to Faith and Spike and stick it under their doors so that they know what we were talking about earlier."  
  
Buffy grinned, shaking off her ruminations about the picture, "Good plan, though I think one note would probably be sufficient."  
  
Angel grinned back as he dug in his desk drawer for a fresh notepad. "Yeah, but we don't know which bedroom they're in."  
  
"Good point. Well, you're the delivery boy, I'm going to hide out in my room instead of unexplainably wandering the house in my underwear and your shirt."  
  
Angel chuckled as he scribbled two brief and near identical notes, "I'd cover you."  
  
"That would definitely get some disapproving looks if it was literal!" Buffy couldn't resist commenting, watching in fascination as Angel blushed.  
  
"It'd be fun though."  
  
Buffy snorted, "Fun for who? Spike maybe, yet another opportunity to laugh himself silly at someone else's expense. Your mom would definitely never invite me here again as I don't think scarlet women make the best daughter- in-laws."  
  
Angel grinned. "Yet another way of getting out of marrying Spike, quick lets go!"  
  
"I didn't mean if I married Spike!" Buffy burst out before realising that she had just implicated herself.  
  
Angel smiled happily at this until Buffy began trying to back peddle.  
  
"That came out wrong!"  
  
"Uh huh?"  
  
"What I meant to say was something else entirely, that is that I um, that was, I mean that I uh we should be delivering the notes not uh-"  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow; she was so cute when she babbled.  
  
Buffy subsided as she realised that she couldn't wriggle out of the situation without sabotaging the possibility of marriage to Angel some day in the distant future.  
  
Angel stood holding the two scraps of paper destined for Faith and Spike, "That's okay Buffy, I'm a modern man and confident in my masculinity, I can cope with a woman proposing marriage to me!"  
  
Buffy's mouth hung open until he hooked a finger under her jaw, shut it and kissed her. "I'm kidding, I know what you meant. We like each other, we're planning to date and so if we do end up with a really good relationship then there is the possibility of marriage someday and you don't want to screw things up with mom just in case. Right?"  
  
Buffy nodded, and followed him over to the door, Why couldn't she have come out with something cool and realistic like that instead of developing the rare combination of verbal diarrhoea swiftly followed by conversation constipation. Gah!  
  
Angel opened the door and peered out, "All clear I think."  
  
"You only think?" mumbled Buffy as she clutched his T-shirt and took the opportunity to lean against him. Mmm, all those lovely muscles.  
  
"I'll go have a look around the corner and down the stairs and then when I wave you can go to your room and I'll brave Spike and Faith's rooms to deliver these."  
  
Buffy tugged him down to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Okay, I'll see you in a minute or two?"  
  
"Count on it."  
  
Then as Angel sneaked down the corridor Buffy closed the door down to a crack and glued her eye to it, it wouldn't do to be seen lurking in the bedroom of her future brother-in-law after all.  
  
A minute later Angel popped back around the corner and grinned, making shooing motions before disappearing again. Buffy was swinging the door open to do as he advised when she realised that grabbing her dress would probably be a good plan. Leaving the door wide open she shot across the room into the bathroom and wrestled the heavy damp dress out of the bathtub where she had abandoned it. She dashed back across the room and paused by the desk, was that voices she could hear? Drunken voices? Nearby voices? Aagh! What the hell were people doing slinking up the back stairs, Dammit?  
  
Buffy did the only thing she could think of in the three seconds she reckoned she had, she dumped the dress in the middle of the floor and dove under the duvet, tugging it frantically over her head.  
  
"Hey Angel, you in here?" Asked a cheery voice.  
  
Buffy cringed under the duvet even as she relished the yummy smell of Angel that assaulted her senses. Oh hell, they were either in the doorway or in the room. Either was bad. Couldn't all the pests just go to bed? Wait a minute! That sounded like Spike!  
  
Buffy cautiously shifted the duvet very slightly in an effort to un-muffle her ears and waited for the man to speak again.  
  
Then Angel spoke, "Hey Drew, Suzy, you looking for me?"  
  
Buffy clutched the duvet tighter, now very grateful that she hadn't poked her head out to chat. The guy sounded a lot like Spike and she'd nearly been fooled into bobbing out to say 'hi' and 'get lost!' She'd had a near miss there. Spike would've been shocked enough to see her appearing from the depths of his Brother's bed, any strangers who weren't in on the mess would have been horrified. She envisioned what Spike's expression of shock would have been like and had to hastily smother her slightly hysterical giggle.  
  
As Angel greeted Drew and his girlfriend he couldn't help but notice that Buffy's dress was in a crumpled heap on the floor and that his previously neat bedcover was now mussed and had a Buffy-sized lump under it.  
  
When the lump twitched he had to bite his lip to stop smirking.  
  
"I wanted to apologize for my brother Max." Drew was saying. We were just passing on our way to bed and saw the door open and I thought I'd just stop in and say sorry for not keeping a better eye on him and the other two. They didn't really give me the details but I believe that they said a few things to you that they shouldn't have."  
  
Angel shrugged. "It doesn't really matter and I think Max was the least offensive of the trio. I thought it was quite funny really."  
  
"Well I just thought I'd stop by and let you know they will be apologizing in the morning and making up for any embarrassment they caused."  
  
Angel grinned, "I should think their hangovers will be bad enough by way of punishment and they won't find me out of bed before noon if they really do feel the need to apologize."  
  
Drew and Suzy chuckled at this and turned to leave, Drew taking in Buffy's abandoned dress as he did so. "Will we be having a double wedding?" He joked with a grin.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Wasn't that the dress Buffy's friend Faith was wearing?"  
  
"Uhhh."  
  
"Angie boy you're bloody brilliant! I'll be off the hook and able to shag Faith to my heart's content now!" Spike barrelled into the room flapping a recently delivered note.  
  
Angel sat down on the bed carefully avoiding squashing the lump. He had a feeling that the whole thing was about to go horribly wrong. The lump oozed towards him and frantically nudged his leg; nobody else seemed to notice.  
  
Drew and Suzy stood looking confused as Spike belatedly realized their presence and shoved the note into the pocket of his sweatpants, "Oh Shit!"  
  
"Faith?" echoed Suzy looking shocked and a little angry.  
  
Drew looked at Spike in puzzlement. "Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you supposed to be marrying Buffy?"  
  
The lump shifted and Buffy slowly sat up holding the duvet up near her chin, Spike's expression of comic horror was all she could have imagined but with other witnesses it was somehow nowhere near as funny. "No, he's not marrying me."  
  
"Bloody hell Buffy!" Spike erupted. "Bloody hell Angel!"  
  
Drew and Suzy now looked totally confused. "I don't get it, Spike was engaged to Buffy but is now with Faith and Buffy has moved on to Angel." Suzy mumbled wide-eyed.  
  
Angel sighed heavily, "It's a very long story."  
  
Drew flashed him a small grin, "A long story you don't want to tell right now I'll bet?  
  
Angel managed to grin back, "Something like that. I think we all need some time to sort out what's happening here before we really start telling people."  
  
"Understandable. Well, we'll be off to bed. I hope you all sort it out."  
  
"Thanks." Buffy managed.  
  
Angel nodded his appreciation. Okay, so disaster hadn't struck, just yet, but how long could their luck hold?  
  
Drew and Suzy left the room, gently shutting the door behind them and Buffy and Angel looked expectantly to Spike waiting for him to either say something intelligent or go away. But Spike only seemed capable of muttering 'Bloody Hell!' to himself while staring pop-eyed at Buffy's abandoned dress.  
  
"Spike hello? Earth to Spike?" Buffy muttered.  
  
There was no response.  
  
Buffy shrugged and turned to Angel with a wicked glint in her eye as she shimmied out of his borrowed shirt under cover of the duvet. "Take off your shirt and get into bed and look cozy, maybe that will sting him into leaving." She muttered.  
  
Angel grinned and obeyed under Spike's horrified gaze, "What are you doing?!" He howled.  
  
Buffy sat up with the bed covers artistically tucked under her arms revealing silky expanses of her bare shoulders and the upper slopes of her breasts, giving the appearance of nakedness, "He is getting into bed so we can pick up where we left off far too long ago." She purred.  
  
Angel grinned as he settled in the bed beside her and she snuggled her satiny cheek against his bare chest. She was referring to her nap of earlier of course, but Spike didn't know that and was rapidly going purple in the face.  
  
"My God! She did it! The Virgin Queen finally did the deed with the Virgin King! I gotta tell Faith!" With that he dashed out of the room banging the door behind him.  
  
Buffy buried her flaming face somewhere under Angel's arm, "Oh well that was nice and embarrassing, Thank you Spike, knew I could count on you!" she moaned.  
  
Angel smiled, this news definitely counted as good. "Why embarrassing? I don't see anything wrong with waiting for someone special."  
  
"You don't?" Buffy raised her head slightly and squinted at him, "You don't think I'm a ginormous freak?"  
  
Angel grinned, "No, I'd go as far as to say it's really nice but then that's what I want to believe so I don't feel like a ginormous freak!"  
  
Buffy's eyes widened into perfect circles, "Huh?"  
  
"Did you listen to him?"  
  
"Yeah," she replayed Spike's little outburst in her head, "Oh!"  
  
Angel smiled at her shock, "What? Can't guys want it to be with someone they love or at least really care about and respect?  
  
Buffy grinned and snuggled closer wincing as the wiring of her corset dug into her ribs, "I guess the perfect ones do. But then, I thought that perfect guys were only in fairy stories until I met you." 


	15. Prowler

Sorry this is later than intended but I just broke up with my boyfriend and wasn't feeling in the mood for writing happy fluffy romance stuff. But hey, Good news for those who wanted this story to last, Chapter 15 is here and I haven't finished yet! Whenever I think to myself hmm, another chapter should do it, I think of something else to put in. I know how it ends though so don't worry, I will get there eventually! Thank you all very much for the reviews, Hope you all keep liking it.  
  
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"May the covert operation begin," Hissed a voice too close to her ear for comfort. Buffy moaned in displeasure and squirmed in an effort to get more comfortable. It wasn't easy; her corset was still jamming its wires into her ribs and sides. She was about to tell Angel to be quiet about operations as they made her feel queasy and to ask him if he would mind her taking the whole wretched thing off in exchange for a shirt of his when another voice spoke.  
  
"Do ya think maybe we should just leave them to sleep? Its barely nine, nobody else is even gonna be conscious for hours and they look all cute."  
  
"But we need to plan luv!" The other voice responded.  
  
Buffy lay motionless and blinked sleepily behind a curtain of hair for a moment until the penny dropped, Okay, so Angel hadn't gone schizo and started chatting to himself, it was just Faith and Spike lurking in his bedroom having annoyingly stage whispered conversations. Duh, what was the point of whispering if they were on a wake up mission?  
  
Had they knocked? Buffy suspected they hadn't. What if she and Angel hadn't just more or less innocently smooched and snuggled before sleeping huh? Wouldn't they have been sorry if they'd walked in on some wild monkey sex? Buffy smirked to herself against Angel's chest, she couldn't quite visualize the wild monkey sex somehow; smooth sensuous lovemaking would be the name of the game with the surprisingly innocent Angel who was still sound asleep to judge by his snuffly little snores.  
  
Buffy grinned, if someone had told her last week that a guy snoring would make her think 'Aawww' instead of 'Grrr' she would've laughed in that persons face.  
  
Trying to ignore the overwhelming cuteness that was Angel snoozing she focused sleepily on the dastardly duo. What was it that they were up to?  
  
"Shall I poke her?" Spike asked suddenly from so close by that she speedily squeezed her eyes shut again, not wanting to be caught awake.  
  
"What? No! That's mean Spike, we can leave them for a little bit longer; they're obviously zonked after last night."  
  
Spike sniggered and Buffy suddenly wanted to smack him. What right did he have to be prowling around in Angel's room, or sniggering about her supposed sex life with the aforesaid Angel? Then he spoke again and Buffy suddenly wanted something heavy to smack him with, "Nah, I think Buffy's too much of a prude to throw a leg over some guy she's just met. Even if it is my charming brother."  
  
"But you said-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I was just surprised to see them so cozy that's all but I'm sure they wouldn't have, I mean look, an unopened packet of condoms on his desk of all places does not make for a night of riotous loving. You know how odd Buff is about stuff like that anyway, the bloke might as sodding well hole up in a nunnery for all he's gonna get from her."  
  
Okay, that was it! So maybe she wouldn't do stuff with strange blokes but that didn't make her odd or prudish, now did it? Spike was definitely for it now. First wanting to interrupt the prospect of morning snuggles and then calling her a prude. Hah.  
  
Maybe she should just drop him right in it with his Mom? Nah, too mean, besides it wouldn't exactly benefit her either if things went as well as hoped with Angel.  
  
Then she had her idea as she felt Angel stir, or a part of Angel at least.  
  
A wicked, catlike smile whipped across her face unseen as she contemplated Spike's punishment. Faith would probably just find the whole thing hysterical and leave quickly but once you got past Spike's bad boy exterior he was actually kind of prudish himself in some ways. Seeing one of his supposedly innocent best friends crawling all over his brother should do it.  
  
Buffy took a deep breath, did she dare? More importantly would Angel mind what she was planning?  
  
Then like a gift from the gods Faith seemed to decide standing around squabbling over the sleeping duo wasn't her idea of fun and slid open the balcony door. Buffy heard her footsteps clomp onto stone as she stepped out of the bedroom. Tilting her head and squinting her eyes through her hair she saw that Spike had followed and was framed in the doorway. She silently urged him out of the room and grinned triumphantly as he joined Faith.  
  
Buffy gave Angel a light shake and to her surprise he awakened without trouble, blinking at her in affectionate puzzlement. As he opened his mouth to speak she hastily laid a finger over his mouth, lingering on his oh so biteable lower lip. With a jerk of her head she indicated the open balcony doors. "Faith and Spike are prowling about." She breathed into his ear.  
  
Angel shuffled slightly, still half-asleep, but excited by the warm puff of her breath on his ear and neck. Then he considered what she had conveyed, "What? Why?" he mumbled back.  
  
"Plotting mainly. Spike's taking swipes at our love life - or lack thereof."  
  
Angel's eyes widened and he was suddenly fully awake. Just because Spike was some kind of Don Juan didn't mean that everyone acted like that. He started to sit up but his beautiful girlfriend remained sprawled where she was on his chest and if he sat up he'd only tip her off. He stayed put. Obviously she wasn't done with this whispered conversation.  
  
"I'm a prude." Buffy informed him with her eyes sparkling mischievously.  
  
"Uh huh?"  
  
"He thinks there is no way I'd swing a leg over some guy I'd just met."  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow and tried not to blush, "Well no, I don't think you would but it doesn't make you a prude."  
  
Buffy grinned at him and took a surreptitious glance at the balcony, "Thank you Angel, its nice to find someone who agrees with me. But I'd still like to make Spike eat his words."  
  
"Excuse me?" She couldn't mean what he thought, could she?  
  
Buffy grinned, "I say we look very cozy when he and Faith re-appear, so much so that it's clear we don't want to be interrupted by them, maybe then I'll be able to get a nice lie in with you without any pestering. I mean think how wigged out he was last night when he thought we were about to get down and dirty in front of him, he couldn't escape quick enough, think how he shrieked like a girl too when you took off your shirt and got into the bed."  
  
Angel nodded slowly, "I gotta say I think it's weird though, can't we just pretend to be asleep?"  
  
"Been there, done that, need to remove the corset. Spike was talking about poking us a minute ago. I think he'll be back to keep his word soon if we don't do something to dissuade him."  
  
Angel's mouth watered, he'd already had a very pleasing view of the corset itself, tightly encasing her body; the idea of seeing it off, and what it had covered appealed even more. But not if it was only for show, if Buffy was stripping off in his presence he wanted it to be because she wanted him, not because his brother had called her a prude.  
  
He gazed solemnly into her eyes, "I don't want you to take it off if you're not comfortable with it Buffy."  
  
"Not comfortable? That's why I need to take it off." She wisecracked.  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
Buffy nodded, yep, the perfect guy was right there between her thighs! Though he seemed to be increasingly determined not to be there. Little did he know that if she hadn't been so completely wretchedly tired the previous night she might well have behaved very un-prudishly!  
  
Thankful for the muscles and agility she had developed in the course of her martial arts career she propped herself up slightly and rapidly undid most of the hooks, leaving just enough in place to hold the fabric together, then she went to work on the stockings, peeling them off, wadding them up and stuffing them between the bedside table and the bed. As she quietly shuffled around with her eyes riveted to the balcony door, watching for movement Angel lay back and tried to tell himself a topless Buffy was not something to get too excited about. Not under the circumstances anyway.  
  
Slightly annoyed by his total passivity Buffy whisked off the corset with a sigh of relief and tucked that discretely down the side of the bed too, but was careful to wriggle her bottom into his side and then drop the tiny scrap of her panties on the bed before tucking them away too.  
  
Angel's eyed bugged, he'd forgotten that her underwear was all interlinked and co-dependant. Okay, so he had naked Buffy in his bed.  
  
Naked Buffy draped over him. Gulp. It would all be fine and dandy if he could relax and enjoy it but she was doing it to score points off stupid Spike.  
  
Buffy was enjoying herself, she'd never felt so comfortable with anyone, so much so that she'd almost forgotten Faith and Spike were only a dozen yards away. She snuggled into Angel and heard him swallow hard; and he wasn't quite as cool as he was making out and he wasn't even naked.  
  
Though with luck that could be remedied.  
  
Later.  
  
After Spike and Faith were disposed of.  
  
"Ready?" she breathed in Angel's closest ear.  
  
He tried not to shudder pleasurably, he was in enough trouble as it was; he just didn't need to go forgetting this wasn't real. He stifled a moan as she moved against him, her bare skin sliding luxuriously against his exposed chest. She smiled innocently, he gritted his teeth, and bared them in a pained grin. "Ready." He agreed against his better judgement.  
  
Buffy smiled seductively and reached up to press a brief hungry kiss to his mouth, as she shimmied her body against his again making the bed creak slightly, "Shall we?"  
  
First she'd teach Spike not to prowl.  
  
Then she'd learn a few things with Angel. 


	16. Puzzled

Another little chapter! Go me!  
  
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Faith stepped back from the balcony rail she had been leaning on and cocked her head slightly, "Did you hear that?"  
  
"What pet?"  
  
The creak that had attracted Faith's attention in the hush of the morning sounded again accompanied by a moan.  
  
Spike's mouth dropped open, "Oh please, bloody hell no!" he groused. "Don't tell me we're stuck on the balcony while Angel diddles Buffy!"  
  
He rushed to the doorway and then slowly bobbled about trying to stick his head around the door without seeing anything.  
  
Faith watched the procedure with amusement. "You know, the longer you give them in peace the more likely they are to be actually doing the nasty when you do look."  
  
Spike shot her a horrified look and leapt into the room with a bellow of "Banzaii!" He kept his eyes closed and tripped on a rug but stayed on his feet with an effort.  
  
Faith followed more sedately, "Sorry to interrupt guys." She said with a smirk as Angel rolled off Buffy's prone form and half hid under the covers looking hideously embarrassed.  
  
Buffy however was snug against him with a smirk even bigger than Faith's.  
  
Spike was still teetering in the middle of the room with his eyes shut, "Is it safe to look?" he asked nervously as Faith grabbed him to haul him towards the door. She had her suspicions about this alleged caught-in-the- act bit; it was all a bit too neat and convenient for removing howling Spikes. But she wasn't going to clue Spike in, another few hours in bed with him would suit her down to the ground.  
  
Spike finally chanced a peek by accident when Faith walked him into the corner of the desk. "Aagh! I didn't see anything!" he howled and with that he bolted out of the room.  
  
Faith followed at a more leisurely swagger, "I'll send you guys his therapy bill, since you set that up."  
  
Buffy pulled a mock innocent face. "Huh?"  
  
Faith paused in the doorway, checking that Spike had indeed fled, though why seeing Buffy and Angel in the sack bothered him so much heaven only knew. "C'mon guys, even you two surely know that Angel doesn't need his sweatpants as a contraceptive measure!"  
  
She paused and watched the blushes with a kindly amusement before catching up the packet of 'Trojans' on the desk and winging the box at them to plop onto the bed between them, "Those work better, trust me, I'm a sexpert!" with that she winked and exited the room with a decisive snap of the door. She wasn't going to stick around to see what they made of that, though judging by the smirk on Buffy's face it would be interesting.  
  
Angel let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as Faith exited the room with her final cheeky dig. "That sounds as if it was a bit of a waste of time if she knew what was going on all along," he mumbled combing his fingers through Buffy's now dishevelled mane of hair.  
  
Buffy looked at him with a puzzled expression, "Not even! We got rid of Spike, which was the aim of the exercise. I wasn't sure we would fool Faith anyway; she's too sharp for that. Besides it was Spike that wanted to be here, I got the impression that she would have preferred to be in bed herself so I doubt she's gone to tell him we were just fooling them."  
  
Angel nodded slowly, as always Buffy's seeming craziness did make sense when fully explained. It was just sad that she would probably cover herself up again now Spike had been vanquished. He heaved himself upright, might as well be a gentleman and fetch her a t-shirt to wear before she requested it.  
  
Then to his surprise he found himself with a lapful of squirming Buffy who was clinging limpet-like around his neck.  
  
"Where are you going?" she pouted adorably. "You leaving me? Why?"  
  
Angel froze, if he didn't offer her a shirt now he probably wouldn't find the decency to do so in a minute. "Uhh." He began lamely in strangled tones. Great, his voice was shutting down along with his brain. Nothing north of the border seemed to be functioning properly at the moment. Though everything in the south was predictably just great.  
  
Meanwhile Buffy was internally berating herself for hurling herself naked into his arms as the ultimate advert for wanton availability/desperation then compounding that stupidity by being cute and demanding to know where he was going. It would serve her right if he announced he was making a trip to the bathroom to use the facilities. Then she could stay here and die quietly in a corner for the stupidity of demanding to know why he was abandoning her to answer a call of nature.  
  
"I, uh was going to grab you a shirt, I thought you might like to get a bit more dressed now."  
  
Buffy swallowed hard, "Oh, okay." Then she made herself move and slithered off his lap burying herself under the covers until only her nose peeked out. Oh the irony, the one guy she decides is the one to trust with her naked body is the one that would rather get a nice big shirt to cover it up. Blah!  
  
Angel sat there feeling confused, he'd offered her a shirt and she'd gone from quite visibly naked and in his lap to right under the covers almost dangling off the other side of the bed. Surely he should've got brownie points for the offer not a seeming cold shoulder?  
  
Without speaking he scrambled out of bed and went to his wardrobe selecting another shirt for Buffy to wear. He laid it on the bed beside her, "I'm just going to brush my teeth and stuff, I'll be back in a minute." He told her before disappearing into the bathroom to mull over Buffy's sudden bizarre attitude shift.  
  
Buffy slowly emerged from under the covers carefully stacking the little box on the bedside table, it was a nice if rude thought of Faith's to throw them over and try to kick start things but it didn't look as if it would be necessary now. She slowly dragged on the fresh shirt Angel had given her. This was becoming a habit, two shirts and one jacket of his already in one weekend.  
  
Then not knowing what else to do she perched on the edge of the bed and waited for Angel to return. She ran several scenarios through her head for what she'd say or do when he re-emerged but settled for scuttling crablike past him into the bathroom muttering, "Can I borrow your toothbrush?"  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
The door shut and Angel stood staring at it in puzzlement. Women. Would men ever work them out?  
  
For want of anything better to do he crawled back into bed and prodded the power switch on his stereo, nodding in satisfaction as soft, soothing music poured from the speakers.  
  
Buffy dithered in the bathroom. She'd done everything but climb into the enormous bathtub for a soak to avoid facing Angel. Finally she was forced to admit that her teeth could not possibly get any cleaner and his toothbrush was reaching the consistency of worn carpet she had scrubbed with it so hard for so long.  
  
She replaced his toothbrush in the holder and strictly ignored the soap.  
  
Now or never.  
  
She cracked open the door and peeked out, immediately feeling silly. This was Angel for heavens sake! Just because he was so gorgeous he addled her brains she shouldn't act like a dip around him because he preferred giving her a shirt to wear rather than himself.  
  
She walked across the room with a new confidence and crawled into bed next to him, spooning against him and stretching up to twine her arms around his neck. She sighed contentedly. It wasn't like what was on offer wasn't great.  
  
Angel sighed with relief as Buffy cozied against him, clearly whatever he had said or done, or not said or done wasn't an issue now. He folded his fingers around hers, smiling at the disparity in sizes and at the little lucky stars on her thumbs. He was so damn lucky. Still puzzled, but lucky. 


	17. Perhaps

Ooh and another update, decent sized too; I dunno what's got into me, it probably won't last though!  
  
Thank you all very much for the kind reviews.  
  
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Faith leaned against the kitchen table absently picking at the fringing on the tablecloth as Spike practically climbed inside the refrigerator, clattering dishes and occasionally munching or slurping at something. A heap of choice leftovers from the ball was rapidly growing to towering heights on the corner of the table.  
  
Eventually the refrigerator door slammed and Spike emerged with chocolate syrup smeared on his chin. "Okay, I think I got enough for all of us to share."  
  
Faith shook her head as he began haphazardly cramming what he could into a picnic hamper. "Tell me again how us running off for a picnic on a rainy November day will not look suspicious and what it will achieve."  
  
Spike grunted something around a large mouthful of soda bread that sounded like "mom avoidance."  
  
Faith raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't catch that around the half a loaf in your mouth."  
  
She watched amusedly as Spike chewed rapidly before they both nearly jumped out of their skin as the door swung open. "Good Morning you two! Up nice and early I see."  
  
Spike shuffled carefully in front of the half-packed hamper and grinned charmingly while trying not to drool bread chunks.  
  
Faith smiled weakly, "Morning."  
  
"What are you up to in the kitchen at this hour? Scavenging eh?"  
  
"Yeah, we uh, got hungry." Mumbled Faith, frantically willing Spike to either swallow and talk or just choke; anything was better than silently bulging cheeks and a gormless scared rabbit look.  
  
"Now dear, I don't think you want quite that much, unless you're feeding an army that is. I'll just pick out the nicest bits for you and Faith and pack them up properly, then maybe you two could go and eat in the library, it's about the only room downstairs untouched by the party I'm afraid. Did you both have a nice time last night?"  
  
Faith nodded feeling her cheeks faintly touched with heat, good thing she didn't embarrass too noticeably or too easily, oh but if this woman knew what she'd been doing, or rather who she'd been doing last night! She gulped, "Uh, sure, lovely. Thanks a lot for inviting me."  
  
Spike choked quietly before finally managing to swallow his now unpleasantly gooey mouthful of bread, "We were thinking of sharing the food with Buffy and Angel and yes last night was great."  
  
"Oh alright then, here, this should do for the four of you." She passed the now neatly re-packed hamper to Spike.  
  
"I'd better go and check to see if your Aunts are ready to go into town, we're off to get some goodies for next weekend."  
  
"Next weekend?" mumbled Spike.  
  
His mom clucked in exasperation, "Honestly! It's your Grandparent's sixtieth wedding anniversary. We're having a special dinner party." With that she bustled out again.  
  
Faith raised an eyebrow, "Do your folks ever do anything but party?"  
  
"I don't think so but I'll let you know." Grunted Spike, hefting the hamper and heading for the door.  
  
"I think I love your family." Faith told him as they headed back upstairs  
  
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Angel raised his head in annoyance as some idiot pounded on his bedroom door. He and Buffy had been innocently snuggled up together dozing very comfortably and half listening to music for the last hour since Spike had been driven out.  
  
He couldn't help but grin as Buffy grunted, stuffed her head under a pillow and muttered something distinctly unladylike. He tweaked the pillow teasingly and said "How did Spike ever get away with waking you up at 5:26 in the morning without being annihilated?"  
  
"He was lucky. But if that's him again his luck has officially run out and I will tell him not to come in because I have you chained to the bedposts as I screw you into the mattress. Failing that I'll just go out and kick him downstairs."  
  
Angel dropped the pillow edge and gulped, the woman would be the death of him. Dangerous wasn't the word for her, more like deadly. He cleared his throat and mustered a chuckle, "Then I kind of hope it's him as that would be pretty funny to hear."  
  
The knocking continued and Buffy tugged the bed covers up over her already pillow-covered head.  
  
"Alright! What?" Angel called.  
  
"Its me. Can I come in?"  
  
Angel shook his head, he had to give his brother some credit, he was learning. Well, sort of.  
  
Buffy growled audibly under her smothering layers of pillow and duvet before slowly withdrawing her head to glare at the closed door. "Go away Spike!"  
  
"But I need to talk to you." He whined.  
  
"But we don't need to talk to you! We're quite happy in here screwing each other into the mattress and having fun with our whips and chains."  
  
There was a long silence from the other side of the door.  
  
Angel masked his snort of laughter behind his hand as Buffy, apparently satisfied that Spike was gone snuggled down comfortably again.  
  
The knocking began again, "I don't believe you Buffy! You wouldn't have whips and chains."  
  
"Oh wouldn't I?!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Come and see then if you're so confident!"  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
'Gotcha' thought Angel.  
  
Then footsteps were faintly heard.  
  
Buffy snorted and nuzzled against Angel, believing she had won that round and Spike was in retreat.  
  
Then Angel sat up causing her head to slide off his chest, Buffy whimpered in protest but Angel ignored her, straining his ears at the voices murmuring outside the room. "I thinks its Dad," he muttered frantically as a sharp rap on the door was heard.  
  
Buffy made an 'eep' noise and slithered out of sight under the covers, clambering on top of Angel in an effort to disguise the fact there was a second smaller person concealed under the covers.  
  
She pulled a face as her borrowed shirt embarrassingly rode up to her middle and the tiny amount of hair growing up to his belly button tickled her hip. This hiding bit was getting to be a habit. An unwelcome habit.  
  
She heard the door snick open and tried to flatten herself as much as possible while trying not to breathe too much. It wasn't easy and her head was in Angel's armpit. Mmm Romantic.  
  
"Morning son."  
  
"Morning Dad."  
  
Buffy cringed, oh gods, what could Angel's dad want unless he'd rumbled them.  
  
"I couldn't help but notice you weren't there for most of the party last night. Was there anything the matter?"  
  
"Huh, no. I'm good, great in fact." Angel said as he used his well- developed poker face to fine advantage.  
  
"You sure? I just thought I'd check because matter of fact I thought you were looking just a fraction too fond of Spike's girl on Friday night."  
  
Oh god, Oh god, Oh god! Buffy gritted her teeth. Oh what a nightmare!  
  
Angel was speechless, was he really so pathetically transparent? Admittedly yeah it was his dad, but he hadn't expected anyone, not even his closest family to spot his admittedly monster crush on Buffy. "Uhhh." He scrambled for an explanation but finding none settled for a faint shrug.  
  
"Now I know you wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your brother's happiness but I just thought I'd see if I could make it easier on you if I'm right about your feelings. If I'm just being a crazy old man I'll leave you in peace"  
  
Angel gulped, he'd just been given an out but he couldn't take it. Damn but he wished he'd had some time to plan out their story with Spike now. Well here goes big fib numero uno he thought. "I uh, well actually I was talking to Spike yesterday and he's not sure if she is the girl for him."  
  
He looked at his Dad's surprised and slightly sceptical face and nodded. "Yeah, but that's honestly what I thought too when I first met her. I thought right away she wasn't his type in any way; in fact I initially had Faith pegged as the fiancée. I think Buffy and Spike probably would have been better staying as the great friends they were."  
  
"But they got engaged." His dad pointed out reasonably, though a slightly doubtful look had crossed his face.  
  
"Yeah, but apparently they weren't really intending to."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Uh huh, apparently they were talking about it, and not necessarily in a lets-do-it kind of way, But mom's friend heard them and jumped to conclusions and started offering congratulations a mile a minute and before they knew it they were getting steamrollered and swept up in all the celebrations, there wasn't really a good moment for them to talk things over and decide that maybe it wasn't right. I swear I wouldn't make a move on Buffy if I thought they were truly happy, in fact I'd do my best that they never even knew how I felt."  
  
"I know."  
  
Buffy was melting, how adorable Angel was. Even though he was kind of twisting the truth she could tell he was speaking from the heart when he was talking about being noble if he had to so she and Spike could be happy.  
  
Then his dad was speaking again. "So what will you do?"  
  
"Uh, talk to Buffy and Spike I guess. Subtly of course, just to see where I stand."  
  
"Well, I'll leave you to plan your speeches." His dad chuckled. "If Spike doesn't marry her perhaps you could do it, she's a very nice girl and I'd be happy to have her married to either of my boys."  
  
Buffy winced, here was this nice guy saying such lovely things and she, Spike and Angel were all fibbing like mad to him. Way to feel crappy. Her conscience nudged her to sit up and confess but she wasn't that honest or that dumb. Spike had nearly had a fit when she'd done it; their poor dad would probably keel over with the shock of it.  
  
"Well she's certainly worth moving across the country for." Angel said with a sly smile.  
  
His dad paused on his way to the door. "Really?"  
  
"If she prefers me, then yeah; I'll be coming back to California to stay for good."  
  
His dad smiled happily, "Your mom would be over the moon and I would be too for that matter, and if it helps, what you've said about them not being sure of each other makes sense now. They put on a good show but they looked, oh I don't know, not wrong together exactly, just not a perfect fit.  
  
Angel nodded, Oh boy did he ever feel bad now, some Spike strangulation was definitely on the cards for later as he was the one that had really created most of this mess. "Thanks dad."  
  
"Alright Angel, I hope you all three get what you want." His dad grinned; mock saluted and closed the door behind him.  
  
Angel listened to the faint echo of his steps die away before he peeled back the duvet slightly to look at Buffy who sprawled on his chest looking miserable.  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
"We're evil."  
  
"I know, but on the bright side it wasn't all lies."  
  
"Mmph, just oodles of misshapen truths."  
  
"Something like that, I just can't believe dad saw how I felt about you right away. I thought I hid it pretty well."  
  
"Hmpff, I'm only surprised he didn't spot me looking like a cartoon when I first saw you, with my eyes boinging out of their sockets, jaw on the floor, tongue rolling out like a red carpet. Then when you started talking to me I practically fainted and ignored Spike for a good hour until I remembered I was supposed to be engaged to him and not lusting after you."  
  
Angel snorted at the image; "Well I wanted to kill Spike for marrying a woman I suddenly wanted desperately within about a second of meeting her, so there's brotherly love for you."  
  
Buffy grinned, "Then I went and discovered your charm and wit and I was a total goner. Miss Bachelorette of the century fell hard."  
  
"Aaw, you're making me blush." Teased Angel tucking back loose strands of hair and planting a tiny kiss on her forehead. He was secretly very pleased though. She definitely liked him as much as he liked her. Perhaps even loved him. Perhaps.  
  
His mushy train of thought was abruptly terminated as Buffy sat up, astride his waist and started wriggling her borrowed shirt back into place as it was largely tucked up around her hips and the buttons were somewhere under her left armpit instead of down the front. Suddenly her total lack of underwear was foremost in his brain.  
  
She sighed with satisfaction with the restoration of comfort and then grinned at his dazed expression and leant forward to rub noses with him. "Hey, you okay?"  
  
"Um yes." He mumbled, gazing into her eyes lovingly as his hands took on a life of their own and travelled up the sides of her satiny thighs.  
  
Buffy couldn't help but smile as she took in his rapt expression just before she kissed him. Perhaps Faith's cheeky gesture hadn't been totally wasted. Perhaps.  
  
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Heh, yes I am evil! 


	18. Perfection

Here I am again - finally! I didn't fall off the world after all. I just unexpectedly had to work ten extra hours last week so there has been very little time to write until now. Plus, my mother has been a total computer hog lately, drat the woman, how dare she use her own computer, huh?! In addition to that I don't find full on love scenes very easy to write, so I hope it's okay! Gah, enough excuses for my tardiness and general uselessness. There will be more as soon as I find the time.  
  
Big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are great and give me the confidence to keep on writing.  
  
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Now, I think this is still only a PG-13 *evil grin* but if not all I can say is 'oops' and 'sorry!' Also, be warned that unless you like 100% slush and mush and horny B/A this may not be for you! ;-)  
  
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Angel slanted his mouth, deepened the kiss, swept his tongue across her slightly parted lips and reluctantly fought the immediate rise of passion that made him unable to think beyond keeping her in bed all morning, just making love to her.  
  
As he kissed her and ran his fingers up her bare legs he was silently listing the probably numerous reasons why he shouldn't be doing this right now. Firstly he'd only met her two days ago, secondly she was still technically engaged to his brother, thirdly the aforesaid brother might burst in on them, -  
  
His mind was trying to come up with a fourth point when she lifted her mouth from his and tantalisingly nibbled and licked her way down the side of his throat before she gently sank her small perfect teeth into a fleshy part between his neck and shoulder. With a small shudder of pleasure he abruptly decided that being reasonable and logical wasn't working at all well.  
  
Buffy murmured in surprise as Angel eased himself upright in bed, bringing her closer against his chest, before he caught her face between his large hands and kissed her until they were both dizzy and gasping for breath. Buffy stroked her hands over his muscular shoulders revelling in the beauty and strength of his body as his lips teased hers with small biting kisses and flicks of his tongue. Then he shifted beneath her and she could feel his arousal jutting into her upper thigh.  
  
Automatically she rotated her hips and ground against him. When he tore his mouth away from hers and groaned loudly against her shoulder she cringed, fearing for a second that in her eagerness she'd just mortally wounded that tender bit of his anatomy or something, but when he grabbed her butt in both hands and firmly eased her hips in the same motion against him she relaxed again. No damage done. Thank God, if she'd managed to almost cripple the first guy to get this far she'd probably just have to admit defeat and go into a nunnery.  
  
Angel held Buffy clutched against him, his lips pressing gentle kisses to her neck and ear as he struggled with the slight embarrassment caused by his rather extreme reaction to her little wriggle against him, but he comforted himself with the notion that he wasn't being compared to anyone else and that if Buffy really liked him as much as she seemed to then he would probably have some potentially more embarrassing reactions to consider in the near future. But initiating anything was beyond him at the moment, his idiotic doubts were back. Did she really want this?  
  
Buffy leaned into Angel's gentle caresses with a groan of pleasure and gently raked her fingers through his hair, he really was the perfect yum and so gentlemanly about the whole thing, perhaps just a touch too gentlemanly. But the very idea of trying to drag him out of his sweatpants before he put the moves on her made her blush red hot, she could think of several things that could go wrong in that scenario. In her overactive imagination the only way that things could possibly go worse was if Spike was to come running in to bounce on the bed in full pirate costume as he had the day before.  
  
Buffy moaned against his lips as he returned to her mouth, pressing deep, burning kisses upon her. She was more used to saying no to the many guys over the years that had tried to get her into bed, this was a new area for Buffy, and she had never expected to have to consider ways of getting a guy to make love to her when she'd already got him as far as a bed!  
  
In the end she opted for direct, there was greater potential for embarrassment but then Angel had a tendency to scramble her brain cells and remove all capacity for thought - rational or otherwise. "Angel?"  
  
She was going to tell him to stop now he thought, reluctantly raising his lips from deliciously soft skin just beneath her collarbone, "Yeah?"  
  
"Will you, um." Buffy ducked her head slightly to avoid eye contact, "Make love with me?"  
  
Angel floundered for an answer; his brain didn't seem to be doing a very good job of making his mouth say the magic word. Instead he settled for a soul-searing kiss that gave his answer just as eloquently as any words could have done.  
  
When he finally released her Buffy blinked dazedly at him and smiled, "I'll take that as a yes." She gasped.  
  
Angel grinned a touch goofily and kissed her again. "That was a big definite Hell, Yes."  
  
Buffy giggled and wrapped her arms around him, nestling herself closer "And to think that I thought you didn't want to know earlier on when I threw myself at you like a big ho!"  
  
Angel blinked and then groaned, "You mean I didn't need to be nice and polite and give you a shirt earlier? Damn I'm stupid."  
  
Buffy giggled, "Nah, just a bit slow maybe!"  
  
Angel mock glared and Buffy shook with laughter again until she abruptly found their positions reversed with Angel sprawled between her legs still playfully menacing her. Despite how much she loved his silly teasing side; right now she wanted the serious passionate side. She stretched lean toned legs and wrapped them tightly around his waist and clutched him close, enjoying the momentary look of shock speedily replaced by a look of lust, and something else she couldn't quite identify.  
  
Angel smiled and dipped his head to kiss her again, to hell with interfering little brothers and the problems of two-day courtships, he was going to ignore the nasty little voices in his head whispering that he couldn't possibly be this lucky, and just enjoy making love to the woman he was so in love with.  
  
Besides, she had him in a death grip, even if he'd wanted to be elsewhere he wouldn't have had a chance.  
  
Reverently he dipped his mouth back to her throat and the collarbone he had been kissing before she had interrupted. His pressed a trail of kisses to her silken skin as far as he could reach before he started needing to unbutton the shirt. His fingers fumbled and he cursed himself, honestly, it was his own shirt, surely he should be able to unfasten it, it wasn't a bra or anything awkward like that. To his relief Buffy came to his rescue, her tiny fingers joining his in tugging at the uncooperative buttons, it was also a relief to see it wasn't just his hands shaking.  
  
At last Angel managed the last button and unwrapped the shirt from around Buffy's dainty form, it wasn't as if he'd never seen her naked before, he had earlier that morning but the ten seconds of sheer shock at having her nude in his arms had rendered him unable to fully appreciate the experience.  
  
And she was breathtaking.  
  
Particularly as she climbed astride him and let her masses of golden hair cascade around her shoulders and tickle her naked breasts when she leaned forward for a kiss. Angel kissed her mouth as his fingers slowly traced the lines of her breasts before he was unable to restrain himself for another moment and let his mouth nibble and lick it's way down her throat to her breasts, when his tongue flicked round one tight rosy bud she gasped and arched up to his teasing mouth, trying to demand more. Her fingers clutched convulsively in his hair and she found herself softly chanting his name like a litany.  
  
The pleasure his lips were giving was almost torturous, his mouth was moving with a lazy sensuality that had her squirming, which she finally noticed had him squirming too. Thrilled by the power she had over him she wriggled and rubbed again, eliciting a groan from Angel and almost moaning herself. His lips, teeth and tongue left her breasts and he raised his head and kissed her urgently but made no move to do any more than that, much to Buffy's disappointment, but then she wondered if he was still waiting for her to make the final move despite her very blatant invitation of earlier.  
  
Gathering her courage she let her fingers drift down his smooth, well- muscled chest to his sweatpants, once she had made that decision to curl her fingers into the waistband his fingers eagerly followed hers, swiftly helping her to tug them off and toss them to the floor. Then she lay with a totally naked Angel. Her eyes widened slightly, okay, so she wasn't exactly a naïve teenager but was it really normal for that part of a guy's anatomy to be that big? And the tiny scrap of rubber he had just retrieved from that handy box surely wouldn't hold him? Okay so it would, just.  
  
Then he kissed her again and allowed his hands and mouth to run freely over her body until she whimpered with pleasure and writhed against him, half trying to join their bodies. Buffy thought she would die if she didn't feel him inside her soon despite how scary his size was, so much pleasure; yet a feeling of emptiness. Then he rubbed against her as she had rubbed against him earlier that night, the sensation of his velvet hardness rubbing firmly and rhythmically against her slick folds was too much and her body convulsed against his, his name on her lips.  
  
As the sharp pleasure faded to pleasant, tingly warmth she realized Angel was beginning to push inside her. Instinctively she parted her thighs wider and rolled her hips upwards to accommodate him. His tentative thrusts sent shocks of pleasure up and down her spine until she began to tear, his shoulders tensed and he kissed her tenderly before giving one final thrust to break through. Buffy whimpered at the momentary pain before the sensation of Angel filling her body so completely overwhelmed the pain and she began to rock her pelvis against his.  
  
They fitted so well together Angel couldn't believe it, he'd been afraid he'd hurt her too much or that she wouldn't really enjoy it but those fears already looked unnecessary and the feelings were so overwhelming as they strained together in their passion, pushing each other to ever more dizzying heights of pleasure that Angel lost all sense of everything except the woman beneath him matching him kiss for kiss, thrust for thrust.  
  
Soon she arched against him panting with pleasure; her hands tracing the taut, sleek muscles of his back and felt them bunch and knot as he struggled for control.  
  
"Damn it, Angel," she muttered unsteadily, "Don't hold back-"  
  
With strength she barely knew she had she urged him deeper and harder using muscles honed by her work, at this he swiftly relinquished the gentle grinding rhythm he had set and drove into her with a sweet savagery that made Buffy scream his name with pleasure almost immediately as her scarlet fingernails scraped down his back in her efforts to drag him even closer. Moments later he was groaning her name as he collapsed over her body joining her in perfection as they lost themselves entirely in each other.  
  
Afterwards he locked her in his arms and sighed contentedly, for a few precious minutes they rested together in blissful silence before Buffy let out a muffled snort of laughter.  
  
"What?" Angel questioned with lazy interest.  
  
"Do you think anyone heard?" She giggled at him.  
  
"I sincerely hope not! Though I suppose I could spread a rumor that it was me accidentally taking a cold shower while still in my morning stupor!"  
  
Buffy grinned and gently smacked his head, "I wasn't that loud! Besides I meant the headboard banging, hmm, whose room is that anyway?"  
  
Angel was racing his mind to attempt to discover who might have been unfortunate enough to receive that unwelcome wake up when he realized the room was Buffy's own and she was giggling at him.  
  
"Minx."  
  
She just grinned and fluttered her eyelashes.  
  
His heart contracted, this was where he belonged, this was where he wanted to be on his Sunday mornings now and forever, "I love you." He blurted suddenly, he checked himself, "I'm sorry, that probably sounds crazy."  
  
Buffy smiled and blinked furiously at the film of tears that were fast forming, "No-o." she managed to quaver, "I think it's lovely."  
  
"Buffy?" Angel gently traced the line of her jaw and caressed her cheek.  
  
"I love you too." She burst out before giving in to floods of tears. "I don't care if people think I'm crazy or that we're crazy." She gulped out. "But I waited and waited for the right guy to turn up and now he has so I don't want to waste another minute not telling him that I love him when he's already had the courage to tell me how he feels."  
  
Angel smiled happily as he received the best news imaginable and wiped up a few of the fat tears now rolling freely down her cheeks, "I don't know about courage, more probably the trouble I have with remembering to put my brain in gear when I'm around you. I love you so much I guess I can't not tell you or show you."  
  
Buffy managed a smile and swiped at her tears, "Show me eh?" She said with a grin and a shimmy against him.  
  
Angel smiled broadly, "I have a feeling that you will be the very early death of me."  
  
"You're too young and strong for that, I chose carefully don't you know! Now what were you saying about showing me how much you love me?"  
  
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Phew! I hope that was convincing - both in realism and passion! I can honestly say that was the hardest thing I have ever written - including a 2500 word essay two hours before it was due, on a book I hadn't bothered to read! Gee I hope my old history professor isn't a closet fan of Buffy fic or he'll be after me with a hatchet because I actually got a decent mark for that essay and was praised for noting some very valid points. Points that I happened upon by flipping the 400-page book open at random a few times and stabbing it with my pen! Mwahahhahahaa! Ahem, anyways. Reviews would be even more appreciated than usual, as I'm not sure about how successful this chapter was despite the actual effort I put into it! 


	19. Picnic

Thank you Honey-B for giving me the necessary kick in the ass to start writing this again. I don't want to stop writing but sometimes my brain just dries up and I can't think of anything good to write, or anything at all, and then when I leave it too long I get lazy and then I leave it longer. And then, fortunately somebody comes along and tells me that they really like my stuff and asks when am I going to update, if ever? So here I am writing again. Sorry about the delay. Honey-B - I promise I will finish this story, I'm not sure about 'The slayer and the sleuths' just yet - but I will try and get going on that again too, I know where that one should be going, it's the middle I can't quite figure out.  
  
This chapter isn't the most wonderful I have ever turned out, it was written at guilty speed in the wee hours of the morning, but I hope it's okay; more will follow soon.  
  
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Faith picked at her third slice of cake and rolled her eyes at Spike as he stomped past her for the fortieth time, seemingly intent on wearing a hole in the carpet.  
  
"What do you think dad said to him?" he ranted, "What do you think he said to dad?"  
  
Faith ignored him and reached over to scoop the fudge off Spike's own abandoned piece of cake.  
  
"What if mom and dad are really upset?" he murmured grinding to a halt with a horrified look on his face.  
  
Faith's bored expression softened, "They might be a bit disappointed Spike but these things don't always work out and they'll get over it soon enough and be relieved that you realized things were wrong before you made a trip down the aisle."  
  
Spike pulled a face, "Buffy tried to tell me this was a dumb idea. I should've thought about what mom would be like over all this, of course she'd bloody well go to town, everything gets celebrated to the point of insanity around here."  
  
"Well beating yourself up doesn't help."  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
Spike headed full steam for the bathroom and closed the door, then opened it again, "I'm not here if that's my mom."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day and said "Duh, Spike, Your room remember? Should I sashay over and open the door to your room dressed in your shirt?" She stood up gathering the material closer around her slender waist and took a step towards the door, "Cause I can, though it would also tell her what I spent the night and much of this morning doing without even saying a word."  
  
Spike groaned and dashed back across the room ushering a chuckling Faith towards the bathroom, "I get it, I get it!" She laughed disappearing out of sight. "You aren't ready to stop with the bull just yet."  
  
Spike cleared his throat and bravely opened the door with a charming smile. "Oh, its only you two." He said.  
  
"Fraid so." Agreed Angel shouldering his way into the room past Spike closely followed by Buffy who was sneaking covert glances over her shoulder. "What do you mean, only you two?" huffed Buffy shutting the door smartly behind her. "You've been pestering us all morning. Now we're here you don't wanna see us?"  
  
"Hey B." Faith said from the bathroom doorway. "Spike is sliding into madness, you came just in time."  
  
"Oy!" protested Spike.  
  
Faith just grinned cheekily.  
  
"Ooh, food." Buffy said happily delving into the picnic basket, she retrieved food for both herself and Angel and they made themselves comfortable together on a handy sofa and were munching contentedly before Spike had time to think or disagree.  
  
"Okay, well you're here." He said slowly. "What did you say to dad? He didn't catch you together did he? I thought it was too quiet for him to have done but I didn't see that, well." he trailed off.  
  
Angel and Buffy grinned and nudged each other in the ribs. Then Angel planted a small kiss on her cheek and Buffy blushed and explained, "Relax Spike, your dad didn't catch us together, though it was a bit of a close thing." She giggled up at Angel and ruffled her fingers into his still scruffy bed hair. Angel beamed back and caught her hand, bringing it to his lips to nibble playfully at her fingers.  
  
Spike stared at them, "Excuse me, I was going to have something else to eat but you two are making me want to heave. Am I going to have to put up with a flamin' pukefest of googly eyes and smacking noises whenever you two are together from now on?"  
  
Angel grimaced, "Spike." He growled warningly.  
  
Buffy wrinkled her nose, "Okay, way to ruin the moment Spike. But yes, I think you will have to put up with way too much PDA in the future. Mainly because I'm in love with your brother and he's moving to California to be with me."  
  
"I'm saved!" Yelled Spike, punching the air gleefully.  
  
"Wow, B. Congrats guys." Murmured Faith with a big grin.  
  
"Yeah, congrats," echoed Spike distractedly. "Wait a minute!" he exploded, "You're in love with him?!"  
  
Buffy nodded, her face scarlet.  
  
"And I'm in love with her." Angel added quietly. "We both know it seems a bit mad to fall for each other so fast but it happened and here we are."  
  
"Bloody hell! That's just, bloody hell!"  
  
"Bloody heaven actually." Buffy shot back mockingly around a mouthful of cake.  
  
Faith winked at her, "I see you followed some excellent advice."  
  
Buffy grinned shyly and snuggled closer to Angel, "Maybe."  
  
"Advice?" Spike was confused.  
  
"Never mind." Angel replied, we're here to get some kind of cohesion with the story we're going to tell people. I think that we were all agreed that the truth wasn't in order here."  
  
"Definitely not." Spike said firmly.  
  
"Well I gave dad a kind of edited version of the truth already."  
  
"What?!" screeched Spike.  
  
"Edited." Faith soothed absently as she stroked his shoulder.  
  
Buffy and Angel exchanged brief glances, well it looked pretty cosy here too.  
  
"Angel told your dad the truth up to a point, like that you and I didn't mean to get engaged, that we were swept up in the enthusiasm of others and that he had fallen for me himself so your dad is even now almost expecting us to announce our break up."  
  
"Mix a little truth with the fiction and the lie is stronger." Angel said ruefully and quickly recounted the conversation he had held with his dad.  
  
"Oh, right then."  
  
"No offence guys but won't it look odd if Buffy just suddenly switches brothers?"  
  
Angel pulled a face, "Probably, I suppose we could just start dropping bigger and bigger hints over the next few days and then pair off with who we really want."  
  
Buffy scowled, "I don't like that plan, I want to be with you. Can I drop anvil sized hints over dinner and be with you again by bedtime?"  
  
"Yeah, could you really stand aside and watch me and Buffy acting away and snogging - love affair as usual?"  
  
Angel scowled, he'd half forgotten his brother's god-given ability to rile him more than any other being on earth. "There will be no snogging," he grumbled, smiling slightly as Faith smacked Spike on the head in response to that remark.  
  
"Ouch. Well explain what you're on about then mate." Spike demanded rubbing his head and looking sorrowfully at Faith.  
  
Angel sighed and took Buffy's hand in his, "I think we need to prepare the way, show people that you and Buffy aren't destined to be together. Faith and I can be really attentive and clearly interested in you two and then it won't be such a shock when the two of you announce that you're calling the whole thing off because you mistook liking and friendship for love and romance. Then you guys stay friends and start dating the people who made you see that what you had together wasn't enough."  
  
Buffy sighed and nuzzled her cheek against Angel's shoulder, "Why are you so right?" she mumbled.  
  
"Bro, you have a wonderful career ahead of you as a romance novelist, or maybe as an advice columnist, I can see it now, Ask Uncle Angel for help in all your love dilemmas." He snorted at his own joke.  
  
"Shut up Spike!" Chorused Faith, Buffy and Angel in unison.  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
"Maybe we should have a public disagreement?" Buffy suggested looking at Spike.  
  
"Why? I haven't done anything, what have you, oh, yeah a disagreement. What about?"  
  
"I don't know, besides not crushing on me why would you not want to go out with me?"  
  
"Uh, dangerous ground there pet."  
  
"Spike."  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm just about to air what I see as your biggest faults, Angel, get a tight grip on her will you."  
  
"Spike!"  
  
"Yep, getting on with it, Um, You're very intense, you don't compromise easily, you're jealous, you love shopping to the point I can die of boredom, you're too driven and wound up for my pace of life. Um, why aren't I dead already?"  
  
Buffy laughed, "It could have been so much worse, the stuff you just said aren't necessarily faults except the bit about compromise its just stuff not to your taste. Luckily for me I'm just about right for your brother's taste."  
  
"Yeah, well he's just a male version of you, I told you that days ago remember? And I said you two would probably get on."  
  
Buffy grinned, "You're a genius oh great Spike, I bow to your wisdom and superior knowledge, you should start a matchmaking service."  
  
"Not if I have to watch the likes of you two slobs smooching and giggling all day long like lovesick kindergarteners on acid."  
  
"Great visual Spike." Angel commented. "Now on that delightful note I think we should go and get ready for dinner, I'm sure Buffy wants at least three hours in the bathroom beforehand so we'll go and let her have five." Buffy smiled happily and hooked her arm through Angel's.  
  
"Whoa, what are Buffy and Spike gonna fight about tonight?" demanded Faith as Buffy and Angel headed for the door.  
  
Angel shrugged, "Wait and see what comes up in conversation and just take the opportunity to quibble over it if you can, if there isn't a chance we'll settle for getting on better with people we're not engaged to as opposed to the ones we are."  
  
"Fair enough." Spike agreed.  
  
Buffy cracked the door open and peered out of it, "Do you think the government would employ me for covert operations after all this?" she mumbled as she slid out of the door with Angel right behind her.  
  
"Well, looks like you're off the hook." Said Faith with a smile as the door closed behind Buffy and Angel.  
  
"Yeah, I can't believe it though. I mean they just took one look and did some daft Romeo and Juliet routine. I really never thought that they would, my brain hurts just thinking about it."  
  
Faith smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Then don't think."  
  
"You giving me something else to do?"  
  
"Yeah, me." 


	20. Passionate

Thank you kind reviewers; your encouraging comments are very much appreciated as always. To my first ever flamer – please go someplace far, far away and just grow up!  
  
It's a longer chapter for me – I took note Arobow! Hope you like!  
  
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Angel smothered a grin as his brand new girlfriend ducked behind a low table bearing a large potted plant in response to a door slamming somewhere out of sight ahead of them. As he attempted to walk past her his elbow was clutched and he was pulled down beside her. He opened his mouth to protest but she shushed him nervously and peered between the leafy fronds trying to spy the source of the noise.  
  
"Buffy..." he began softly.  
  
"Shh! Someone might catch us!" she mumbled.  
  
"Uh huh, because god knows it's totally illegal for two fully dressed adults staying in the same house to happen to be strolling down the same hallway in broad daylight. Personally I think we look more suspicious huddled up apparently communing with this plant!"  
  
He watched with tender amusement as her cheeks flushed and she grinned weakly at him, "Well, it is a nice plant."  
  
Angel grinned back and tucked a loose wisp of hair behind her ear for her, his fingers lingering lovingly on her still flushed cheek "Come on James Bond, lets go."  
  
"Uh, guys? What are you two doing?"  
  
Buffy froze and Angel snatched his fingers away from her face as if they had been burned.  
  
Xander and Anya stood nearby looking down at them curiously.  
  
"My earring!" Buffy blurted quickly, snatching at the first idea to pop into her racing brain.  
  
"Yeah, her earring, she lost it." Angel backed her up.  
  
Xander nodded, "Okay."  
  
Buffy and Angel breathed again.  
  
"But you have both in your ears," Anya pointed out looking puzzled.  
  
"The ones she wore last night." Supplied Angel quickly, "She lost one of those, she had it on her way upstairs but she didn't have it when she went to take it off."  
  
"But why are you looking in the plant pot?" Anya asked innocently.  
  
Buffy gritted her teeth, "Well its not in the middle of the floor is it?"  
  
"Might've rolled under the base of the table," Xander offered without interest, before fixing his stare on Angel, "How come you're crawling around on the floor helping Buff look?" he inquired.  
  
Buffy bent to grovel under the table; things were just going from bad to worse. Angel had apparently exhausted his ability to tell clever fibs and was wildly elaborating about having just bumped into her when she was searching. Drastic times called for drastic measures.  
  
"Ooh, Angel." She cooed sweetly.  
  
Angel nervously shifted his attention from Xander to Buffy. "Yeah?"  
  
"Your mom might want to look into getting a new maid or something, the dust bunnies under here are practically mating!"  
  
At which declaration Anya predictably squawked and Xander was immediately fully concentrated on consoling her.  
  
"Oops! Sorry!" Buffy trilled loudly before grabbing Angel by the hand and beginning to haul him away, "I just thought about where I might've left that earring, Thanks for helping, Bye!" With that she hurried away dragging Angel in her wake.  
  
Her mad dash didn't ease until she had both herself and Angel safely shut away in her bedroom. Then she released Angel and looked up at him with a sheepish grin.  
  
He smiled down at her, "You." He told her shaking his head in mock disappointment, "Are bad."  
  
Buffy pouted, "But you still love me right?"  
  
For an answer Angel pulled her into his arms and kissed her breathless. "Always." He gasped as he raised his head.  
  
Buffy snuggled her head under his chin and grinned to herself; "I can live with that." She said softly.  
  
"Good, I'd hate to think I was the only one feeling so..."  
  
"Overwhelmed and out of control." Buffy finished for him. "It's scary Angel, what I feel for you. Not bad scary, but sort of like getting on a really big roller coaster, a fun exhilarating kind of scared."  
  
"I was going to say completely invested in this but all of the above fits too."  
  
Buffy smiled and tilted her head back to look up at him, at this man she had felt connected to from the moment she had laid eyes on him, "We'll make it work right?" She whispered, suddenly uncertain.  
  
"We will."  
  
Reassured by his unwavering certainty she pulled his head down to hers for another one of those mind blowing kisses he seemed to specialise in.  
  
Eventually he raised his head and gazed at her lustfully, "Unless you want to be hauled into bed and kept there until dinner time I suggest you get your beautiful self into the bathroom and start getting ready."  
  
Buffy grinned wickedly, "What if I decide I need someone to scrub my back?"  
  
Angel groaned and pulled away, "Then you won't get ready on time and they will probably have to send a search party for us because we'll be half drowned and cavorting naked in the bathroom!"  
  
Buffy licked her lips and smirked up at him.  
  
"You think I don't mean it?" Angel chuckled, "I need to go now or we really will still be fooling around at dinner time; besides there are practical considerations such as a lack of protection because we used up what we had."  
  
Buffy pouted as her boyfriend pressed one last kiss against her mouth, disengaged himself from her embrace and walked towards the door. Once again he was right, but it still felt wrong.  
  
"I love you." She called softly.  
  
He paused in the doorway with that luscious hint of a smile playing around his mouth, "I love you." He echoed. Then he was gone.  
  
Buffy snorted, and he thought he was getting away with that? Hah, not likely. She marched into the bathroom, snagged her shampoo, conditioner and shower gel from the shelf, swept her essential items of make up into their bag and plonked the armful on the bed. Next she advanced upon her wardrobe and pulled out the dress and shoes she had chosen to wear before rummaging for her sauciest underwear. Angel didn't know it yet but he would be having company in the shower. Next stop Willow.  
  
Buffy cracked her bedroom door open and peeked out before rolling her eyes at her own stupidity. Angel must have thought she was going insane when she hid behind that plant; pretty soon everyone was going to think she had mental problems if she kept up this cloak and dagger bit. "Note to self, kill Spike as soon as possible." She mumbled as she made her way to the room Willow and Oz were sharing. She was about to go and shock the pants off her poor sweet natured buddy; hopefully Willow would be too surprised to be angry.  
  
Willow was snoozing on the bed with Oz beside her scribbling song lyrics in a tattered notebook, tapping out rhythms with a pen as he did so when Buffy banged on the door. Willow shot upright blinking stupidly and Oz calmly finished tapping out the tune before making a notation and walking to open the door.  
  
"Oz! Hi!" Buffy squeaked with a huge hyper smile.  
  
"Hi Buffy." Oz turned to Willow, "It's Buffy. She's hyper."  
  
"Wow, it's normally me who has coffee and then goes bouncing off the walls!" Willow joked sleepily as she slid off the bed and walked towards her jittery looking friend.  
  
Buffy laughed hysterically, "Believe me Will, he's way better than coffee!" Then she flushed and clapped a hand over her mouth as she eyed Oz maniacally.  
  
"You know I could write these songs just as well downstairs." Oz murmured shuffling together his things.  
  
"No! That's okay! You should stay and write songs I just have a favour to ask Willow!" With that Buffy grabbed Willow and hauled her un-protesting into the en-suite bathroom and shut the door.  
  
Oz shrugged and sat back down, seconds later he had his eyes shut and was hearing a spectacular riff play itself out, his fingers twitched and he grabbed a pen, blissfully unaware of his girlfriend's state of shock in the bathroom.  
  
Willow allowed herself to be manhandled into the bathroom by Buffy who faced her with a strange look on her face.  
  
"You look as if you're going to go pop if you don't ask me for this favour," Willow prompted, "So you'd better tell me because I don't want to be splattered in little Buffy pieces if you do burst."  
  
Buffy grinned, "Okay, try not to pass out."  
  
"Okay." Willow agreed a little uncertainly.  
  
"Angel and I spent this morning making love."  
  
Willow's mouth opened and closed, "I'm sorry," she mumbled faintly, "I must still be asleep because I thought you just said you made love with Angel."  
  
"I did, but it's okay Will, I'm so in love with him and he's just so wonderful and he loves me too, so it's all just amazingly perfect." Buffy began to babble, glad to have the chance to pour out her heart to her best girl friend.  
  
"I think I need to sit down." Willow mumbled as she sagged down onto the edge of the bath. "Isn't there kind of like a major fly in the ointment of perfection though Buffy?" She prompted dazedly.  
  
"Well, yeah, that's partly why I'm here." Buffy confessed as she ended her rambling monologue listing Angel's many and varied perfections that would have made him blush furiously if he'd been witness to even half of it, "We've run out of condoms and I wondered if you have any spare, I know it's a cheek but please." She appealed.  
  
Willow stared at her open mouthed for a moment before finding her voice, "That's not what I meant!" she managed in strangled tones, "I was referring to a Spike sized fly!"  
  
Buffy gulped, "Oops, I sort of forgot that part."  
  
"What part?" Willow asked warily.  
  
"The part where Spike and I are calling the whole thing off because we didn't really get engaged in the first place and it only happened because of stupid Wes and bitchy witchy Cordy and Spike's mom's friends big mouth and..."  
  
Willow heaved herself upright and held up a hand, "Whoa! Not making sense there. All I got was you and Spike...aren't a thing?"  
  
Buffy nodded vigorously, "He's kind of cosy with Faith at the moment."  
  
"And you're kind of cosy with Angel." Willow filled in slowly, trying not to display her immense shock.  
  
"Very." Buffy agreed happily.  
  
Willow shook her head, maybe afternoon naps weren't such a great idea, all this information was coming much too fast for her apparently sleepy brain to cope with. But she knew one thing; however much she had wanted Buffy to have with Spike what she herself had with Oz it hadn't happened, but Buffy had apparently managed to find that special something with Angel.  
  
And if there was something Willow wanted it was to see her friend happy and in a fulfilling relationship. She reached into the bathroom cabinet and plucked out a small box, "I expect a full explanation at a later date, served up with luxury chocolates, good wine and many details." She warned as she passed it to Buffy. "Not those kind of details though." She added quickly.  
  
Buffy threw her arms around Willow, "Thank you!"  
  
Willow hugged her friend tightly, "No worries, but boy do you have some explaining to do later on."  
  
"Godiva chocolates are on me," Buffy promised. "I have to go, there's an Angel just waiting to be further corrupted."  
  
Willow shooed her out laughing.  
  
As she closed the door behind her best friend she knew she'd done the right thing not demanding answers or making a fuss, she'd seen Buffy happy before, but never practically vibrating and glowing with happiness.  
  
"Well that's one I didn't see coming," she remarked to Oz as he raised his eyes to meet hers. "I think dinner tonight could get interesting."  
  
*  
  
As Buffy left Willow's room she almost skipped down the hallway back to her own room. It didn't take her long to gather up the armful of her stuff on the bed and she slipped out of her own room to Angel's as silently as a shadow.  
  
Without a free hand to signal her arrival and not really seeing the need to knock at her lover's door Buffy used her elbow to turn the door handle and bounced the door open with a swing of her hip.  
  
The room was empty but she could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and with a smile she deposited her belongings on the bed. She took a moment to hang up her dress smiling at the elegant black gown with a tie back neck; she wondered if Angel would feel particularly moved to undo that ribbon fastening as he had confessed to fantasising about undoing her pink dress, worn for her fake engagement party.  
  
Buffy smiled before beginning to remove her clothing, then she gathered up a few necessary things and walked towards the bathroom.  
  
*  
  
Angel stood with his hands and forehead braced on the steamy tiles of the shower wall, letting hot water wash over his body, he felt incredible. Better than incredible. In a matter of days his life had made a huge U-turn and was changing from somewhat lonely and unfulfilling to indescribably wonderful, and it was all down to Buffy. The more he thought about it the more he felt sure that he had found the one. His soul mate. The feeling of almost recognition he had experienced when he had first laid eyes on her should have tipped him off, but he'd been too busy fighting what he was feeling then. Now he'd stopped fighting he could admit they really were made for each other.  
  
He sighed happily; life was great.  
  
Then slim arms encircled his waist and soft breasts pressed against his back, "Hey." Whispered a familiar and beloved voice.  
  
He lifted his head and smiled to himself as she ducked under his arm to come up in front of him without un-linking her arms. "Miss me?" she asked pertly.  
  
"Of course." He murmured hungrily, as rational thoughts left him, "I missed you the moment I stopped touching you."  
  
Buffy sighed with pleasure at his answer and pressed close, stretching up for a kiss he was already leaning down to give.  
  
*  
  
*  
  
Buffy giggled up at Angel as he mock glared at her for styling his hair into shampoo devil horns. After a moment she stepped back to admire her handiwork and burst out laughing. Her boyfriend looked so cute with frothy foamy lather everywhere and the dumb hairdo.  
  
As he leant over to wipe the steamed up mirror trying to see what was so funny she began carefully applying conditioner to her own wet hair, she loved him so much and it was amazingly good that they were not only having a very passionate love life at one moment but could also goof about with each other the next. Buffy recapped her conditioner and tucked it onto the shelf next to Angel's shower gel, without a doubt she had just had several of the best moments of her life in this shower, had her life really been that sad up to this moment? She wondered briefly. Then Angel slipped back into the shower with his hair re-styled into a mohican and she cracked up. It was the sort of thing Xander might do and it wouldn't raise more than a smile from her, but because it was Angel it was hilarious. Nope, these were the best moments because they were ordinary moments made magical by an exceptional man.  
  
After a lot more kissing and after all the bubbles had been washed away Buffy and Angel finally exited the shower. "You have fifty-five minutes to go from gorgeous, wet and naked to gorgeous, dry and dressed," Angel told her as he threw a towel over her head to wrap around her hair.  
  
Buffy peeled up a corner of the towel so she could see out and grinned at him, "I like that you think I'm gorgeous even when I resemble a drowned rat, please do keep that optician."  
  
Angel chuckled and kissed her on the tip of her nose, the only bit he could reach properly under the towel and walked out of the bathroom swinging his towel casually over his shoulder leaving Buffy to ogle his perfect rear view. "Yummy." She mumbled to herself before following his lead. With less than an hour to dress she couldn't get too distracted by her boyfriend's butt. But she still pinched it on her way to her hairdryer.  
  
With about fifteen minutes to go Buffy was stamping up and down in her underwear and shoes, grumpy because her hair as she put it, 'Refused to style itself', Angel almost told her it looked pretty much the same as usual but wisely held his tongue, he didn't know that much about women but even he could work out the probable consequences of that one.  
  
Before he knew what was happening he found himself enlisted to hold bits of hair and pass pins as Buffy tamed her hair into an elegant upswept style with a few tiny tendrils falling loosely around her face. At last she was satisfied and he bent to press a gentle kiss to the back of her neck. "I like this style." He mumbled between kisses. "I also like the underwear."  
  
Buffy smiled and curved her neck into his kisses, "Sorry I flipped there for a minute but my hair was doing something really bizarre, you seeing it was bad enough, everyone else seeing it too – no way!"  
  
"Buffy, even if you had a bad hair day every day from now on I'd still love you."  
  
"And I still love you with devil horns, that was impossibly cute though."  
  
Angel grimaced, "Cute? Don't you think I'm a bit big and manly to be cute?"  
  
Buffy giggled as she shimmied into her dress and offered him the ribbons to tie it up, "Nuhuh. Definite cuteness, now tie me up and we'll get this show on the road."  
  
"Tie you up?" Angel echoed in disbelief as he took the ribbons from her, "Why must you torture me? I had graphic enough visions of undoing the pink one, now I know what's underneath how do you expect me to make it through the evening without fantasising about what will happen when I untie this bow and probably coming over all caveman and carrying you off to bed?"  
  
Buffy turned to burrow into his chest to hide her grin, before she became serious again, "I wish this evening were over, its going to be so hard, remembering that you aren't mine and that I can't just reach out and touch you."  
  
"It's just a few hours." Angel tried to reassure her. "Just a few hours." He repeated to himself. It didn't reassure him either; it was still too long.  
  
Then with a last glance at the hands on the clock he walked to the door and opened it, he stepped back to allow Buffy to precede him into the hallway. After a quick glance both ways they allowed themselves a final kiss before walking side by side, but not touching to the head of the main staircase. 


End file.
